Stocks in Toronto dipped on Friday as the price of bullion declined after a bullish U.S. jobs report, sending shares of gold miners sharply lower and offsetting a gain in the index's financial sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 115.43 points to stop for lunch Friday at 14,987.68
The Canadian dollar slumped 0.78 cents to 79.31 cents U.S.
The financial sector, which has been hit by worries about a slowing Canadian economy, climbed after declines in the previous three sessions. Toronto-Dominion Bank added 0.8% to $54.57, and Royal Bank of Canada rose 0.8% to $77.71.
The gold-mining sector shed earlier strength, with Goldcorp fell 5.6% to $24.43, and Barrick Gold was down 3.7% at $14.67.
Real-estate stocks also suffered, as DREAM Unlimited capsized 62 cents, or 6.2%, to $9.37.
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 chalked this up to lower construction intentions for non-residential buildings in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange skidded 4.86 points to 692.06
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were down, as gold slid 5.6%, materials stumbled 2.9%, and real-estate lost 2.1%.
The one positive stock was in financials, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower on Friday as investors digested February's jobs report that indicated an interest rate hike could come sooner rather than later.
The Dow Jones Industrials lost 179.05 points, or 1%, at 17,956.69, with Procter & Gamble the greatest decliner.
The S&P 500 dipped 19.22 points to 2,081.82, with utilities the greatest decliner as all sectors fell.
The NASDAQ index faltered 34.17 points to 4,948.64,
Apple is expected to join the Dow on March 18, replacing AT&T. Shares of the iPhone maker gained about 1% 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.
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 fell sharply, raising yields to 2.25% from Thursday’s 2.11%. Treasury prices and yields tend to move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank 86 cents to $49.87 U.S.
Gold prices fell $23.70 to $1,172.50 U.S.
Related Stories
