The Toronto stock market was little changed Friday as mining stocks benefited from the release of encouraging Chinese economic data.
Elsewhere, the market stalled amid concerns about whether the U.S. can avoid a fiscal crisis at the end of the month.
The S&P/TSX composite index was 7.55 points higher at 12,296.72
The Canadian dollar was down 0.14 of a cent to 101.42 cents U.S.
March copper was up two cents at $3.68 U.S. a pound and Inmet Mining ran up $3.13 to $69.83 while Teck Resources was up 71 cents to $35.28.
The tech sector also provided lift with Research In Motion Ltd. up 1.8% to $13.88 on increasing optimism that the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones can turn the company around. The line is being launched at the end of January. RIM stock is up 17% this past week along and has more than doubled from its 52-week low of $6.10.
The gold sector was ahead while Iamgold Corp. gained 30 cents to $11.60.
A Canadian-based mining company operating in Kyrgyzstan says a $152-million claim from the Central Asian country for alleged environmental damages caused by a gold field it is developing is exaggerated and without foundation.
Centerra Gold says that independent experts have determined its Kumtor mine project has no materially significant environmental issues. Centerra shares gained 80 cents to $8.89.
The energy sector was down as Cenovus Energy was down 50 cents to $32.25.
Natural gas giant Encana Corp. and PetroChina subsidiary Phoenix Duvernay Gas have reached a deal to work together in the Duvernay region, a promising shale natural gas formation in west-central Alberta. Phoenix will end up owning just shy of half of the 180,000 hectares Encana has in the Duvernay.
That means the $2.2-billion deal won’t be subject to the same federal review as the just approved $15.1-billion takeover of Nexen Inc. by China’s state owned energy company CNOOC. EnCana shares were down 89 cents to $19.96.
Telecoms were also weak with Telus Corp. declining 63 cents to $65.30
The TSX financial sector was flat while Standard & Poor’s downgraded the ratings of six of Canada’s financial institutions, citing a softening economy, low interest rates and a slowing Canadian economy.
S&P says the risk for the Canadian banking sector is increasing and that it expects intensifying competition for loans and deposits will pressure profit growth.
The firm lowered its ratings for Scotiabank, National Bank, Laurentian Bank of Canada , Central 1 Credit Union, Caisse centrale Desjardins and Home Capital Group each by one notch. The outlooks for all six financial institutions are stable.
Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales declined 1.4% in October to $48.8 billion. Economists had expected a dip of 0.2%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 9.61 points to 1,183.62
In all, eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups ended Friday down. Telecoms sagged 0.8%, while consumer staples slid 0.6%, and energy stocks settled 0.5%.
The half-dozen gainers were led north by metals and mining, up 2.4%, global base metals, surging 2%, and materials, up 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index tallying their first weekly drop in four, as investors fretted over the lack of a budget deal.
A deal must be reached to avoid going over the so-called "fiscal cliff," which would involve the automatic imposition of hundreds of billions of dollars in spending cuts and tax increases that could plunge the world’s largest economy back into recession and depress economies around the world.
Down 0.2% for the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 35.71 points, or 0.3%, Friday to 13,135.01.
The S&P 500 shed 5.87 points, or 0.4%, to 1,413.58, off 0.3% from the prior Friday's close.
The Nasdaq Composite declined 20.83 points, or 0.7%, to 2,971.33, down 0.2% for the week, its second consecutive weekly drop.
Apple Inc. led the technology sector lower after UBS AG cut its price estimate for shares of the consumer technology company.
Economically speaking, U.S. consumers paid less for goods and services in November, mainly because of the falling cost of fuel.
The consumer price index dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.3% last month, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday. Economists had expected a 0.2% decline.
Excluding food and energy, core consumer prices edged up 0.1% in November. The core number is closely followed by investors and the Federal Reserve as it is seen to be a better predictor of future inflation.
Treasury prices were down, raising yields on the 10-year note to 1.70% from Thursday’s 1.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil was static on the day at $86.83 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $1.30 an ounce at $1,697 U.S. an ounce.
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