The Toronto stock market remained lower early Friday afternoon with buyers inclined to be cautious going into the weekend as the euro-zone debt crisis continued to cast a pall over trading.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 13.55 points to approach noon at 11,552.52.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.20 to 97.23 cents U.S.
The TSX was set for a fourth straight weekly loss. The Toronto market has shed about 6% during May.
Gold miners strengthened, as shares of Goldcorp Inc. climbed 1.5% and Barrick Gold Corp. rose 1.6% as dollar-denominated gold futures edged higher on the heels of a slightly weaker greenback.
Technology shares were also among the gainers, as shares of Research In Motion Ltd. added 1.9%.
But financials pressured the market, with Bank of Nova Scotia shares lost 1.8% and stock in the Royal Bank of Canada down 2%.
Also in Toronto, shares of lululemon athletica Inc. fell 1.5%. KeyBanc Capital Markets cut its rating on the retailer’s stock to hold from buy, citing its "cautious view on the U.S. high-end consumer" and the company’s high valuation.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange reversed course and gained 20.89 points to 1,303.36, while the Nasdaq Canada forged ahead 2.37 points to 364.24.
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, the former group headed by information technology, up 1.1%, health-care, up 0.8%, and energy stocks, gaining 0.7%.
The seven laggards were weighed by a 0.9% loss in the financials sector, while industrials and global base metals were each 0.6% to the bad.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks languished between modest gains and losses Friday, with Wall Street largely fixated on Spain, where regional banks are struggling with finances and yields that reflect the government’s borrowing costs shot higher.
The Dow Jones Industrials approached noon Friday down 30.76 points to 12,498.99
The S&P 500 inched forward 0.92 points to 1,321.60, with natural-resource companies hardest hit among its industry groups and defensive sectors the best performing.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fought its way forward 1.13 points to 2,840.51. U.S. markets will be closed Monday for Memorial Day
In the United States, consumer confidence climbed in May to its loftiest level since October 2007 as prices at the gasoline pumps took less of a toll on American wallets.
Signs that the Spanish banking crisis is worsening weighed on investors. Trading was halted on the Madrid stock exchange for shares of Bankia, the nation's fourth-largest bank, as the bank's board prepares a bailout request from Spain's central bank to fund a recapitalization.
Spanish bond yields shot higher, rattled on reports that one of Spain’s autonomous regions has asked for assistance from the government because it can’t get debt financing from markets.
The yield on Spain’s 10-year government bond jumped to 6.32%, up 14 basis points after the media reported the warning from the president of Catalonia, Artur Mas. The comments sent the euro to below $1.2552 U.S. against the dollar and unsettled Wall Street.
On the economic slate, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment rose to 79.3 from 76.4 in April.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained a bit of ground, lowering the yield to 1.75% from Thursday’s 1.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil was ahead 32 cents to $90.98 U.S.
Gold prices climbed $8.69 an ounce to $1,565.99 U.S.
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