Stocks in Toronto were lower shortly after the opening bell on Friday, as shares of energy companies fell alongside the price of oil.
The S&P/TSX composite index slumped 58.16 points to open at 14,830.88
The Canadian dollar drooped 0.16 cents to 81.42 cents U.S.
BlackBerry is considering equipping an upcoming smartphone with Google Inc.'s Android software for the first time, an acknowledgement that its revamped line of devices has failed to win mass appeal, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
The move would be an aboutface for the Waterloo, Ontario-based company, which had shunned Android in a bet that its BlackBerry 10 line of phones would be able to claw back market share lost to Apple's iPhone and a slew of devices powered by Android.
The company formerly known as Research In Motion saw its shares doff two cents to $11.28.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd said output at its Primrose and Kirby South oil sands projects has returned to normal levels after wildfires in northeastern Alberta late last month cut production.
The company said in a statement that output at its Primrose site, which was evacuated in late May, has returned to 80,000 barrels per day while Kirby South, which had about half of its output suspended when a pipeline was closed, is again producing 25,000 bpd.
Natural Resources shares dipped 42 cents, or 1.1%, to $36.27.
CIBC raised the price target on BRP Inc to $32.00 from $30.00 considering that the company reported strong Q1 results that were better than expected across most metrics. BRP shares squeezed ahead 11 cents to $27.65.
CIBC raised the rating on Transcontinental Inc. to outperform saying that the miss in terms of profitability was entirely the result of a weaker set of numbers out of the media assets, and higher head office expenses. Transcontinental shares slid 20 cents to $16.36.
CIBC cut the target price on Trinidad Drilling Ltd. to $6.00 from $6.75 after the company announced the proposed acquisition of CanElson Drilling for a total consideration of approximately $505 million. Trinidad shares added a penny to $4.29.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was negative 0.18 points to 681.95
All but three of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower, with energy sagging 0.9%, financials lagging 0.7%, and health-care off 0.5%.
The three gainers proved to be industrials, up 0.3%, gold, inching higher 0.2%, and consumer staples, up 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower on Friday as negative news out of Greece weighed on sentiment and investors kept an eye on bond yields.
The Dow Jones Industrials opened down 112.61 points to 17,926.76, with Cisco dragging all blue chips lower.
The S&P 500 index slid 9.41 points to 2,099.45, all sectors in the S&P 500 declined as the major indices fell about 0.5%.
The NASDAQ moved lower 19.12 points to 5,063.39
Twitter traded about 1% higher, off earlier gains of about 3%. The stock is in focus after spiking 9% in after-hours trade following the late Thursday afternoon announcement that CEO Dick Costolo would step down next month.
The news comes after investor calls for a leadership shakeup following a sluggish run for Twitter stock as the tech company struggles to grow revenue and expand its user base.
The Producer Price Index increased 0.5% for May, topping expectations for 0.4%. The gain was the largest since May 2012. The ex-food and energy read was 0.1%.
The standoff between Greece and its creditors worsened on Thursday after the International Monetary Fund walked out on talks with Athens, citing "major differences" over how to save the country from bankruptcy. The news pressured stocks, with European and U.S. equities closing with mild gains.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained slightly, lowering yields to 2.36% from Thursday’s 2.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 55 cents a barrel to $60.22 U.S.
Gold prices pointed up $2.30 at $1,182.70 U.S. an ounce.
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