North American stock markets were lower Friday as big disappointments from jobs statistics in both Canada and the United States raised fresh worries about the pace of the economic recovery.
The S&P/TSX index dropped 46.42 points to greet noon at 12,316.63, off its lows of the morning.
The Canadian dollar stepped back 0.57 cents at 97.85 cents U.S.
The resource-based TSX has been particularly pressured by mining stocks. Base metals are down 17.5% so far this year, reflecting weak commodity prices amid a slow global economic recovery.
And the gold sector has fallen 22.2% as gold companies have suffered from bullion costs that haven’t kept pace with growing costs of getting the precious metal out of the ground.
Financials led the declines, amid signs of further weakness in the Canadian economy and concerns that interest rates will stay ultra-low for even longer than expected.
TD Bank fell $1.02 to $80.98 while Scotiabank gave back 64 cents to $57.10.
Industrials were down 0.68 per cent and Canadian National Railways dropped 67 cents to $97.31.
Prices for oil and metals were lower as May copper on the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped a penny to $3.34 U.S. a pound. The metals sector lost 0.86 per cent as First Quantum Minerals declined 25 cents to $18.36.
Among gold issues, Goldcorp Inc. gained 57 cents to $32.52.
The energy sector turned positive, as Canadian Natural Resources was 18 cents higher at $31.10.
On the corporate front, clothing retailer Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. reported a net loss of $1.1 million or a penny per diluted share in its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter, reversing year-earlier profits of $4.7 million or seven cents per share.
Revenue for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 2 totalled $267.7 million, up 3% from just under $260 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2012 and its shares dropped 33 cents to $9.41.
Statistics Canada reported the economy shed 55,000 jobs — all full time — in March. The unemployment rate also rose by 0.2% to 7.2%. Generally speaking, economists had expected about 6,500 jobs to have been created last month.
Moreover, Canada's merchandise exports decreased 0.6% in February, while imports edged up 0.1%. So, our trade deficit with the world widened from $746 million in January to $1.0 billion in February.
Elsewhere, Canada’s Ivey purchasing managers’ index jumped to the highest in seven months, exceeding economist projections, as measures including inventories and employment showed expansion.
The index rose to 61.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis, the highest since August and up from 51.1 in February, according to a statement on the website of Western University’s business school.
Readings of more than 50 indicate an increase in purchasing by governments and companies. The reading exceeded the most optimistic forecasts of 14 economists.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.37 points to 1,033.09
In all, nine of 14 Toronto subgroups were down by noon, weighed mostly by financials, down 1%, while utilities and health-care issues lost 0.7% apiece.
The five gainers were led by energy, up 0.6%, while gold and metals and mining stocks increased 0.4% each.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were sharply lower Friday after a sorely disappointing jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials shed 102.74 points, to reach noon ET at 14,503.40
The S&P 500 index slipped 15.55 points to 1,544.43. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite slumped 34.48 points to 3,190.51.
The selloff was broad-based, with 27 of the 30 components of the Dow in the red. UnitedHealth, Caterpillar and Boeing were the exceptions. More than 80% of the S&P 500 and and NASDAQ 100 were trading lower. Technology stocks were among the biggest losers, after a leader in the networking solutions sector warned of a weak quarter ahead.
Shares of F5 Networks plunged after the technology company announced preliminary quarterly earnings and sales that fell well short of expectations. F5 competitors Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks were also under pressure.
In South Korea, Samsung Electronics beat market expectations with strong guidance, fueled by the upcoming new model of its Galaxy smartphone, and ahead of its impending quarterly report. The new Samsung product could present more competition to iPhone maker Apple, which is back near its 52-week low.
On the economic slate, the U.S. Labor Department's monthly report showed that the economy added only 88,000 jobs in March, the lowest monthly gain since last June and far below expectations. Economists had expected a gain of 190,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate slipped to 7.6%, but that was also bad news because nearly 500,000 people dropped out of the labour market.
The labour force participation rate, which measures how many people are employed or looking for jobs, fell to 63.3% -- its lowest level since May 1979.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 1.69% from Thursday’s 1.77%. Treasury prices yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 72 cents to $92.52 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $14.50 to $1,566.30 U.S. an ounce.
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