Stocks in Toronto tailed off near the end of Friday’s trading, despite gains by gold and energy stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index subtracted 25.65 points to finish Friday at 12,383.68
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.04 cents to 102.49 cents U.S.
In the TSX energy sector, Imperial Oil down 29 cents to $46.03, and Suncor was unchanged at $33.04
Gold stocks gained, including Goldcorp strengthening 58 cents to $46.00, and Barrick Gold triumphing 24 cents to $41.67
Shares of Research In Motion dropped 50 cents, or 7.4% to $6.25 after the company said it’s investigating the cause of a BlackBerry outage affecting users in Europe, Middle East and Africa on Friday, though the company said the problem has since been resolved. The technical glitch came as Apple launches its new iPhone 5 model in stores.
Air Canada and Irish national carrier Aer Lingus have signed an interline agreement that will make flying between the two countries more convenient. The deal allows customers to fly year-round through London Heathrow Airport on one ticket. Shares of the company were ahead five cents, or 4.1% to $1.28.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada told us that inflation gained less than many experts projected last month. The Consumer Price Index rose 1.2% in the 12 months to August, following a 1.3% increase in July.
The agency also said that, on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index increased 0.4% in August after decreasing 0.1% in July.
What’s more, wholesale sales fell 0.6% to $49.5 billion in July, following a 0.3% decline in June. Among the seven sub-sectors, five sub-sectors, representing 85% of total sales, reported declines.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 10.83 points to close at 1,345.72
In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower at the end of the day and week. Information technology stocks suffered 1.6%, metals and mining lost 1.4% and global base metals doffed 1.2%.
The four gainers were led by gold, up 0.8%, health-care, gaining 0.5% and materials, up 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were mixed Friday, with the Nasdaq hitting a 12-year high, as investors kept tabs on the global economy and the iPhone 5 launch.
The Dow Jones Industrial average settled 17.46 points to 13,579.50 at the finish, after enjoying positives all through the day.
The S&P 500 index docked 0.47 points, to 1,459.71, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added four points to 3,179.96
The market was on pace to log a third straight week of gains, which are modest, but the three major indexes continue to trade at multi-year highs.
The Nasdaq, up 0.5% for the week, is at its highest level since November 2000, while the Dow, up 0.3% for the week, is at a five-year high. The S&P 500 is flat for the week, and just shy of its highest level since December 2007.
Meanwhile, Apple's stock was also in focus Friday, as the iPhone 5 went on sale around the world. The new device is almost sure to be the company's best seller yet. Apple shares rose to an all-time high of $705.07 U.S.
KB Home shares jumped after the home builder reported quarterly earnings of 4 cents per share that were contrary to anticipated losses.
Shares of Darden Restaurants, which operates chains including Red Lobster and Olive Garden, gained ground after it reported earnings of 85 cents U.S. per share, near expectations.
Shares of business software maker Oracle rose a day after the company reported quarterly earnings in line with expectations.
McDonald's shares were also slightly higher Friday, a day after the fast-food chain promised to raise its dividend 10% for the fourth quarter.
It was a sluggish week as investors worry about a global growth slowdown. Trading activity has been largely muted as a string of reports signal slowing growth in all parts of the world.
Early Friday, World Trade Organization economists scaled back their forecasts for world trade expansion, though recent moves by central banks around the world to take action were cheered.
In the United States, Friday also marked "quadruple witching," when four types of contracts expired -- market index futures, market index options, stock options and stock futures.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.76% from Thursday’s 1.78%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 59 cents a barrel to $93.00 U.S.
Gold prices tacked on $5.50 an ounce to $1,775.70 U.S
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