Canada's main stock index fell on Friday, as materials stocks declined and signs of credit stress at U.S. regional lenders sparked concerns.
The TSX dwindled 350.32 points, or 1.2%, to 30,108.48. Still, on the week, the index gained 257.6 points, or 0.8%.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.15 cents to 71.35 cents U.S.
The decline came after two American lenders disclosed loan fraud on Thursday, driving concerns around credit quality, prompting sharp selloffs on both Wall Street and the TSX.
However, markets found some support after U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday confirmed that his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping remained on schedule. Trump also said that proposed 100% tariffs on Chinese imports would not be sustainable.
Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday brushed off calls to retaliate against the U.S. over its tariffs on some Canadian exports, saying the two countries were deep in talks over key sectors.
Gold stocks weighed heaviest among the laggards, with Aya Gold skidding $1.68, or 8.9%, to $17.12, while Iamgold faded $1.67, or 8.1%, to $18.92.
Discovery Silver lost 64 cents, or 10.7%, to $5.35, while shares in Endeavour Silver dropped $1.46, or 10.3%, to $12.77.
U.S.-listed shares of Bitfarms tumbled 16.3% in premarket trading Friday after pricing $500 million in convertible senior notes due 2031.
On the TSX, Bitfarms shares lost 47 cents, or 6.3%, to $6.94, while Coveo Solutions gave back a dime, or 1.3%, to $7.40.
Elsewhere, lithium producer Standard Lithium tumbled $1.61, or 21.1% to $6.03. after announcing the pricing of an upsized $130-million stock offering plan.
Consumer staples tried to balance things out, with Alimentation Couche-Tard gaining $1.76, or 2.4%, to $75.11, while Loblaw grabbed $1.53, or 2.6%, to $59.61.
In telecoms, Cogeco Communications accumulated $1.72, or 2.7%, to $66.43, while BCE captured 77 cents, or 2.3%, to $59.61.
Real-estate issues were also in plus country, as Granite REIT units gained $2.78, or 3.6%, to $79.79, while Northwest Health-Care Properties REIT picked up eight cents, or 1.6%, to $5.01.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada said foreign investors acquired $25.9 billion of Canadian securities in August, led by purchases of debt instruments. Meanwhile, Canadian investors added $19.5 billion of foreign securities to their portfolio, led by investment in shares
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange collapsed 41.78 points, or 4.2%, to 965.58. The index has gone from hefty winnings on the week, to losses of 15.2 points, or 1.55%.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split by the end of the day, with gold settling 6.9%, materials sliding 5.7%, and technology shares crumbling 0.5%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by consumer staples, up 2%, telecoms, up 1.3%, and real-estate, better by 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Friday as traders tried to move past credit concerns that sparked a big selloff in regional banks Thursday.
The 30-stock index gained 238.37 points to end the day and the week at 46,190.61.
The S&P 500 piled on 34.94 points to 6,664.01.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ also recovered 117.44 points to 22,679.98.
Stocks remain on track for weekly gains despite Thursday’s decline.
The S&P 500 is pacing up 1.7% after a strong start to the third-quarter earnings. The Dow has added about 1.7% week to date, while the NASDAQ is on track for a 2.2% gain.
Stocks extended their gains in afternoon trading after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would be speaking with his Chinese trade counterpart Friday evening.
Trump also said from the White House that a meeting with China President Xi Jinping was still likely at the end of the month. The comments helped ease concern that the threat of 100% additional tariffs against China on Nov. 1 might not come to pass.
Shares of companies that led Thursday’s bank rout rebounded earlier Friday, as traders bet any bad credit bets were one-offs and not part of a bigger crisis.
Zions and Western Alliance disclosed bad loans over the last 48 hours, which sparked a big selloff in the stocks that eventually dragged down the whole market Thursday. Zion lost 13%, while Western Alliance tanked by 11% Thursday.
But Zions Bancorp climbed 5% Friday after receiving an upgrade from Baird, which said the drop in market value for the regional bank was out of proportion considering the size of loan losses it was potentially facing. Investment bank Jefferies, caught in the storm for its exposure to bankrupt auto parts retailer First Brands, was last up 6% after Oppenheimer raised its rating to outperform. Jefferies was down 11% Thursday.
Better-than-expected earnings Friday from Fifth Third Bancorp also assuaged worries, sending the stock higher by about 1%. The bank’s profit jumped last quarter even after posting an increase in credit losses tied to exposure to bankrupt subprime auto lender Tricolor.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury retreated, raising yields to 4% from Thursday’s 3.97%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices edged up nine cents to $57.55 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dumped $59.90 to $4,244.70 U.S. an ounce.
Dow Soars Despite Bank, China Concerns
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