Canada's main stock index was down for the second day in a row on Friday as energy shares fell alongside the price of oil and financial shares came under pressure.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 89.63 points to greet noon at 14,741.25
The Canadian dollar drooped 0.07 cents to 81.25 cents U.S.
The energy sector led the way down. Among the laggards, Suncor Energy fell 1.1% to $35.14, while Canadian Oil Sands dropped 2.4% to $9.99.
Canadian Natural Resources tumbled 1.7% to $36.06 as it was caught in the broader energy sell-off, despite saying output at its Primrose and Kirby South oil sands projects had returned to normal levels after wildfires in northeastern Alberta.
A drop in financial shares also contributed to the broad decline. Royal Bank of Canada fell 0.8% to $77.53, while Toronto Dominion Bank lost 1.3% to $53.88.
BlackBerry gained 0.4% to $11.35 after sources said the company is considering equipping an upcoming smartphone with Google Inc's Android software for the first time.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was negative 1.18 points to 680.95
All but four of the 14 TSX subgroups remained in negative country, as energy plunged 1.1%, while health-care and financials each faltered 0.9%
The four gainers were led by metals and mining, up 0.2%, while information technology and consumer staple issues each eked up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower on Friday as uncertainty over Greece weighed on sentiment and investors kept an eye on bond yields.
The Dow Jones Industrials plunged 150.34 points by noon time to 17,889.03, after falling as much as 182 points with Cisco dragging all blue chips lower.
The S&P 500 index slid 13.81 points to 2,095.05. All sectors in the S&P 500 declined as the major indices lost more than 0.5%
The NASDAQ moved lower 29.25 points to 5,053.25
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 76 cents a barrel to $60.01 U.S.
Gold prices doffed $1.60 at $1,178.80 U.S. an ounce.
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