The Toronto stock market was lower Friday as nervous investors backed off going into the weekend amid rising tensions in Ukraine.
The S&P/TSX composite index remained negative 39.14 points to greet noon at 14,515.11
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.15 at 90.58 cents U.S.
Business software provider Open Text Corp. posted quarterly net earnings of $45.8 million or 33 cents per share, up from $25.8 million or 22 cents in the comparable year-earlier period as revenue rose to $442.8 million from $337.7 million.
The company also upped its quarterly dividend by 15% to 17.25 cents a share. Its shares climbed $3.27, or 6.4%, to $54.08.
In other corporate developments, Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. lowered its production guidance during 2014 for the Syncrude Canada oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta., to between 95 million and 105 million barrels, compared with an previous estimate of 95 million to 110 million barrels as a result of a breakdown at one of its cokers, which help convert heavy oilsands bitumen into a lighter type of crude. Its shares fell $1.30 to $22.83.
May copper was unchanged at $3.12 U.S. a pound and the base metals group was off.
The gold sector advanced as geopolitical worries drove June bullion up.
There were scattered reports of violence as Ukrainian forces tried to end an occupation of government buildings by pro-Russian militia in more than 10 cities in eastern parts of the country. In turn, Russia's foreign minister has accused the West of plotting to control Ukraine and also announced military exercises near Ukraine's border
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz is more hopeful than before about an export recovery but is not straying from his mantra that an interest rate cut is just as possible as a hike because the economic outlook is so uncertain. Poloz said so during a speech in Saskatoon Thursday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange backtracked 0.96 points to 1,013.49
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower by noon, as consumer discretionary stocks fell 1%, telecoms dropped 0.8% and health-care stocks fell 0.7%.
The three gainers were information technology, up 1.6%, gold, gaining 1%, and materials, 0.5% to the good.
ON WALLSTREET
The slew of corporate earnings reports and Vladimir Putin combined to drive stock markets downward midday Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 113.60 to break for lunch at 16,388.05
The S&P 500 slid 11.20 points to 1,867.41, and the NASDAQ composite index tumbled 53.50 to 4,095.04, as investors weighed renewed concerns about the situation in Ukraine and whether key companies like Amazon are growing at the pace Wall Street likes to see.
Amazon reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue Tuesday, but investors weren't surprised, and shares tanked over 9% as worries about rising costs at the tech giant surfaced. Starbucks rose slightly after reporting a gain in sales and earnings.
Ford shares fell about 3% after the automaker reported its first quarterly earnings decline since 2012. Profits also were below analysts' estimates.
Shares of Dow component Visa tumbled after the credit card giant missed revenue forecasts.
Microsoft bounced after the company reported first-quarter sales that exceeded analysts' expectations and it announced the completion of its deal with Nokia.
Tensions in Ukraine escalated sharply Thursday, with Russia embarking on new military drills near the border after Ukrainian forces said they killed five pro-Russian militants within their borders.
Senior government officials told the media that the U.S. could impose new sanctions on Russia as early as Friday for failing to take steps to reduce the tension in eastern Ukraine. Sanctions would target key allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, high-profile oligarchs and possibly companies.
Even without additional sanctions, Russia is struggling economically. Standard & Poor's downgraded Russia's credit rating to one step above junk status, and the country was forced to raise its interest rate from 7 to 7.5% since its currency is dropping sharply. This was the second increase in two months.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries, moved up, lowering yields to 2.66% from Thursday’s 2.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid $1.08 to $100.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $10.80 at $1,301.40 U.S. an ounce.
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