Stock markets in Toronto took a nose dive on Friday, as the repercussions of Wednesday’s decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve's stimulus taper were still being felt.
The S&P/TSX composite index slid 118.98 points to begin the week’s final session at 13,616.30
The Canadian dollar stumbled 0.26 cents to 89.34 cents U.S.
Canadian National Railway Co reported higher quarterly earnings on Thursday, saying its full-year volumes and revenue hit record highs, but the results were tempered by extreme winter weather in December and came in slightly below estimates. CN shares retreated $1.35 to $57.99.
Canadian Oil Sands Ltd said on Thursday fourth-quarter profits fell 12 percent due to higher expenses and a bigger foreign exchange loss. Oil Sands shares dropped six cents to $20.03.
Celestica Inc. said its quarterly profit narrowly beat analysts' average estimate due to a slight improvement in margins and a tax benefit. Celestica shares perked 23 cents to $11.48.
The U.S. State Department is poised to issue an environmental review of TransCanada Corp's proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline that will likely say the project will not appreciably increase carbon emissions, sources said late Thursday, forcing U.S. President Barack Obama closer to a tough decision.
TransCanada shares loosed 54 cents to $47.29.
On items economic, Statistics Canada reported that real gross domestic product grew 0.2% in November, up for a fifth consecutive month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 5.20 points to start Friday at 947.68
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower in the first hour of trading, weighed by metals and mining and the global base metals group, each down 1.5%, while financials skidded 1.3%.
The two gainers were gold, up 1.1%, and materials, inching up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
After snapping a five-day losing streak Thursday, stocks were taking a beating Friday.
The major indexes are all set to close out a bumpy first month of 2014 in the red. And the culprits once again were emerging market worries and weak earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed 190.43 points, or 1.2%, to 15,658.18
The S&P 500 index subtracted 15.40 points to 1,778.79. The NASDAQ demurred 33.10 points to 4,090.02
The Dow is down more than 4% so far this year. That puts the blue-chip index on track for its worst January since 2009.
The S&P 500 has slipped about 3% while the NASDAQ has shed more than 1%. Both indexes are on pace to deliver their worst January since 2010.
On the earnings front, Mattel, Amazon,,Chevron and MasterCard were all big losers on Friday after reporting results that underwhelmed investors.
Mattel shares tumbled after the toy giant reported a surprise drop in its fourth-quarter revenue, as sales of its core brands Barbie and Fisher-Price fell sharply.
Amazon missed Wall Street's earnings forecasts, sending shares sharply lower.
Wal-Mart shares were also falling after the discount retailer cut its guidance for the fourth quarter.
On the bright side, Zynga, Google and Chipotle were all higher following their earnings reports. Zynga also announced a new round of job cuts.
Microsoft shares ticked up slightly following a Bloomberg report that the company is preparing to name executive vice president Satya Nadella as its next CEO.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, dropping yields to 2.65% from Thursday’s 2.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices let go of 71 cents to $97.52 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices spiked $9.10 to $1,251.30 U.S. an ounce.
Dow falls with mighty thud
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