The Toronto stock market turned negative Friday afternoon even as jobs data for January in both Canada and the U.S. blew past expectations and the price of oil pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index dipped into negative territory 41 points to close the day and week at 15,083.92
The Canadian dollar lost 0.56 cents to 79.85 cents U.S.
Even so, the benchmark Canadian index is up nearly 4% so far this year.
The gold sector was the biggest TSX decliner, as bullion prices fell sharply after the release of the U.S. jobs data. Barrick Gold gave back 77 cents, or 4.7%, to $15.47, while Agnico Eagle Mines retreated $3.20, or 7.5%, to $39.64.
The base metals sector also dragged, as March copper was off one cent at $2.59 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources skidded 49 cents, or 2.6%, to $18.07.
The Toronto market was boosted by a gain in the energy sector, though Imperial Oil was down a dime to $50.70, while Suncor added seven cents to $38.62
In earnings news, Domtar Corp. had $71 million U.S. or $1.10 per share of net income in the fourth quarter and $1.379 billion U.S. in sales, both up from a year earlier.
Ex-items, the Montreal-based paper company had $91 million U.S. or $1.41 U.S. per share of adjusted earnings, well ahead of the 92 cents that analysts had expected and its shares ran up $3.37, or 7.1%, to $51.16.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported this morning that the job market benefiting from folks doing more part-time work. Employment increased by 35,000 in January, resulting in an unemployment rate declining 0.1 percentage points to 6.6%.
Moreover, the agency said, contractors took out building permits worth $7.1 billion in December, up 7.7% from November. This followed a 13.6% decline the previous month.
StatsCan added the December hike resulted mostly from greater construction plans in non-residential units in Alberta and British Columbia.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched back 0.49 points to 693.44
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were down on the day, as gold tumbled 4.5%, materials suffered 2.6%, and telecoms slid 2%.
The four gainers were financials, up 0.8%, energy, up 0.4%, while industrials and health-care stocks each moved higher 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed down on Friday, ending the week significantly higher, amid continued concerns over Greece and a strong jobs report that renewed the possibility of an earlier Fed rate hike.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 60.59 points, dropping more 100 points from positive readings in the last hour of trading, following increasing Greek worry to close the day at 17,824.29, following Thursday’s 230-point-plus gain. The big board still surged 3.8% on the week.
The S&P 500 handed back 7.05 points to 2,055.47. Utilities traded lower, losing more than 2% as the weakest sector in the S&P 500.
The NASDAQ index subtracted 20.70 points to 4,779.37.
Top blue-chip performers JPMorgan Chase traded by as much as more than 3% higher, and Goldman Sachs also traded nearly 2% higher.
Social media stocks Twitter and LinkedIn surged more than 10% on Friday, following strong earnings reports. Yelp fell more than 20% on weak guidance.
Friday was a much quieter day for earnings, with Moody's and Madison Square Garden posting earnings that beat expectations. CBOE Holdings missed those expectations. Energy company Dominion is due to report after the bell.
The S&P downgraded its rating on Greece to "B-" from "B."
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy created 257,000 jobs in January, beating estimates of about 230,000. More importantly, average hourly earnings grew by 0.5%, above estimates.
The unemployment rate rose to 5.7%, above estimates.
Thursday's reports showed non-farm productivity fell a greater-than-expected 1.8% for the fourth quarter. Economists had forecast productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, rising at a 0.5% pace.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries stumbled, raising yields to 1.94% from Thursday’s 1.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices spiked $1.56 per barrel to $51.74 U.S.
Gold prices plummeted $26.00 an ounce to $1,232.10 U.S.
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