Canada's main stock index was little changed on Friday as the price of bullion declined after a bullish U.S. jobs report, sending shares of gold miners lower and offsetting a gain in the financial sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 21.29 points to open Friday at 15,081.82
The Canadian dollar tailed off 0.72 cents to 79.36 cents U.S.
Enbridge Inc, Canada's largest pipeline operator, said on Thursday it plans to boost the size of two lines carrying crude from the oil sands while shaving $400 million from their original price tag. Enbridge shares started out the day higher by 49 cents to $58.56.
Barclays cut the price target on Baytex Energy Corp to $21.00 from $23.00. Baytex shares gathered 74 cents, or 4.3%, to $18.17.
RBC raised the target price on Canadian Natural Resources to $43.00 from $41.00. Canadian Natural shares ducked back four cents to $38.60.
RBC also cut the target price on Canyon Services Group Inc. to $9.00 from $10.00. Canyon shares fell 23 cents, or 3.3%, to $6.72.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that our imports were flat in January, while our exports plunged 2.8%. As a result, Canada’s trade balance with the rest of the world, widened from $1.2 billion in December to $2.5 billion in January, the largest since the record $2.9-billion deficit in July 2012.
Moreover, the agency said that building permits fell in January to $6.1 billion, following a 6.1% increase the previous month. StatsCan chalks this up to lower construction intentions for non-residential buildings in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange skidded 1.7 points to 695.22
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, as gold tumbled 3.5%, materials suffered 1.7%, and consumer staples doffed 1%.
The five gainers were led by financials, up 0.5%, health-care, up 0.4%, and energy, ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower on Friday amid corporate news, as investors digested February's jobs report that indicated an interest rate hike could come sooner rather than later.
The Dow Jones Industrials skidded 92.09 points at 18,043.63, with Home Depot the greatest decliner and JPMorgan Chase the leading two advancers.
The S&P 500 dipped 8.04 points to 2,093
The NASDAQ index was weaker by 6.4 points to 4,976.41, with utilities leading all sectors except financials lower.
Apple will join the Dow Jones industrial average this month, replacing AT&T. Shares of the iPhone maker gained about 2% to trade below recent highs, while the wireless services provider fell more than 1%.
Staples reported a 3.7% fall in quarterly sales, as a strong dollar and waning demand for computers and accessories hurt profits.
The office supply retailer posted a net loss attributable to the company of $260.4 million U.S, including a pre-tax charge of $410 million U.S. as a result of impairment of goodwill in its international operations. Shares in the firm dipped in pre-market trading.
Trade balance data for January showed $41.75 billion U.S., a decrease from December's $45.60 billion U.S.
The jobs report showed a gain of 295,000, above expectations of 240,000 in February, down from 257,000 in January. The unemployment rate fell to 5.5%, while hourly wages ticked up 0.1%, below consensus and off the surprise 0.5% gain in January.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries went south, raising yields to 2.23% from Thursday’s 2.11%. Treasury prices and yields tend to move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank 43 cents to $50.33 U.S.
Gold prices fell $17.90 to $1,178.30 U.S.
Related Stories
