Equities in Toronto declined on Friday after declines in the energy and financial sectors weighed on the market following unexpectedly sluggish jobs data and worries about the situation in Ukraine.
The S&P/TSX composite index hesitated 41.30 points to greet noon at 14,504.73
The Canadian dollar plummeted 0.61 cents to 91.73 cents U.S.
Among financials, Toronto Dominion Bank shed 0.4% to $52.06, and Royal Bank of Canada was down 0.3% at $73.03.
Shares of energy companies lost, with Suncor Energy Inc dropping 0.6% to $41.96.
But the materials sector, which includes mining stocks, advanced, supported by gains in the prices of commodities such as bullion, silver and copper.
Barrick Gold jumped 1.8% to $18.92, and Goldcorp Inc added 0.6% to $27.12.
Internationally, Russian President Vladimir Putin flew in to Crimea for parades marking the Soviet victory in World War Two, while eight people were reported killed in Ukraine.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that employment decreased by 29,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.9% as the number of people taking part in the labour market edged down. The nation’s crunchers added that there’s been little overall employment growth in Canada since August 2013.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 15.79 points to 976.22
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were down by lunch time, most notably, energy stocks, skidding 1.2%, while metals and mining lost 0.5%, and gold stocks were 0.4% to the bad.
The half-dozen gainers were led by consumer discretionaries, up 0.6%, health-care, picking up 0.4%, and real-estate, more solid by 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Not even news of a potential marriage between Apple and Dr. Dre was enough to inspire much action on Wall Street Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average faded 1.12 points midday to 16,549.85
The S&P 500 slid 3.18 points to 1,872.45, and the NASDAQ composite index inched backward 2.24 points to 4,049.26
The S&P 500 is on track to end this week in the red, which would make this the 10th week of alternating between gains and losses. That would be the longest such stretch in almost 20 years.
The tech world is buzzing about reports indicating Apple is considering a $3.2-billion U.S. takeover of Beats Electronics, a popular headphone maker and streaming music provider. The deal would be Apple's largest ever and create a huge windfall for Beats investors, which include Dr. Dre and Carlyle Group
Pandora Media, which provides a rival streaming music service, traded higher following the news.
Biotech stocks, a source of trouble in recent weeks, also helped drag the Nasdaq lower. Names like Mylan and Amgen were under pressure. Rocket Fuel plunged over 25% as the digital advertising company logged disappointing revenue and revealed a tepid outlook for the current quarter.
In earnings news, Hilton Worldwide rose 3% after more than tripling its profits and raising its outlook for the year. The hotelier also said it's planning to build new hotels.
Ralph Lauren fell 3% and touched the lowest levels in almost two years amid disappointment over the company's pessimistic outlook. It continues to struggle to grow as fast as some of its competitors.
On the other hand, Gap popped 4% on upbeat projected earnings and a 9% jump in April same-store sales.
Investors drove CBS 4% lower as the media giant's revenue fell more than feared due in part to the absence of the Super Bowl. News Corp., the media giant controlled by Rupert Murdoch, ticked higher after logging an earnings beat despite a dip in revenue.
Stratasys, a 3D printer maker, plunged 8% even after swinging to a profit and reporting soaring revenue.
There's little in the way of economic reports today.
U.S. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s congressional testimony was the big economic news for the week. She mostly reiterated her commitment to keep interest rates low until the economy is on firmer footing.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sagged, upping yields to 2.62% from Thursday’s 2.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gained 44 cents to $100.70 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices eked up 10 cents to $1,287.80 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
