Equities in Toronto went south on Friday, with metals and energy stocks fading.
The S&P/TSX composite index stumbled 103.21 points to finish the day and a short week at 14,302.70.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.13 cents to 76.15 cents U.S.
Base metals concerns provided much of the weight by the finish, with Thompson Creek Mines plummeting six cents, or 8.1%, to 68 cents, and Capstone Mining falling six cents, or 6.7%, to 83 cents.
Among energy issues, Pengrowth Energy sagged 30 cents, or 15.5%, to $1.64, while Penn West Petroleum shrank in price 12 cents, or 7.4%, to $1.51
Real-estate stocks tried to prop up the market somewhat, as Northern Property REIT climbed $1.41, or 6.6%, to close at $22.87, and Allied Properties REIT gained $1.14, or 3.2%, to $36.33.
Industrials were also slightly positive, as Wajax Corporation gathered $1.55, or 7.7%, to $21.80, and Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers gained $2.40, or 7%, to $36.49
Among gold issues, New Gold spiked 15 cents, or 6%, to $2.67. Iamgold was the most actively traded stock, gaining eight cents, or 4.1% to $2.05, on 6.1 million shares.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada reported that only 6,600 jobs were created during July, keeping the unemployment rate at 6.8% for the sixth straight month.
The agency also reported that the total value of building permits rose 14.8% to $7.7 billion in June, following a 13.9% decrease in May.
June’s hike was mainly attributable to higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings in Quebec, Alberta and Ontario, as well as institutional buildings in Alberta and commercial buildings in British Columbia.
Finally, Western University in London, Ontario released its IVEY Purchasing Managers Index for July. Last month, the figure stood at 52.9, compared to 55.9 in June, and 54.1 for July 2014.
The index compares purchasing managers’ buys with previous months. Any figure over 50 indicates expansion, below 50 indicates contraction.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture skidded 4.43 points to 576.60.
All of three of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, with global base metals down 2.5%, metals and mining sliding 2.3%, and energy worse off by 1.9%.
The three gainers were real-estate and industrials each eking up 0.3%, while gold moved higher 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Friday as news of an activist stake in American Express offset some of the pressure from oil's decline, following an in-line non-farm payrolls report.
The Dow Jones industrial average faded 46.37 points to 17,373.38. The index posted seven straight days of decline, the worst losing streak since the summer of 2011.
The S&P 500 dipped 5.83 points to 2,077.73, with energy leading seven sectors lower and utilities the greatest advancer.
The NASDAQ index finished negative 12.90 points to 5,043.54
The major averages ended the week about 1.5% lower, with the Dow Jones industrial average the worst performer.
Stocks halved losses in afternoon trade, with American Express jumping more than 6% on news that ValueAct took a $1-billion U.S. stake in the firm. In afternoon trade, trade volume in shares of the financial services firm was nearly double its average for the entire day.
A stake that size gives ValueAct about 13 million shares, which is less than a 10th of what Warren Buffett holds.
In morning earnings reports, Cablevision reported a 1.6% increase in quarterly revenue, boosted by an increase in fees to its cable customers. Net income attributable to stockholders fell to 27 cents from 35 cents U.S. a year earlier, while net revenue rose to $1.65 billion from $1.63 billion U.S.
Hershey reported its weakest sales performance in more than five years, hurt by low demand in China. The chocolate maker posted a net loss of 47 cents U.S. a share for the second quarter, versus a gain of 75 cents U.S. from the same period last year. Net sales were flat at $1.58 billion U.S.
The employment report said that 215,000 jobs were added in July, with an unemployment rate of 5.3%. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2%, as expected.
Economists polled by Reuters forecast an increase of 223,000 non-farm payrolls in July, enough to allow the U.S. Federal Reserve to pull the trigger on its first rate hike in nine years.
The Fed will consider a possible first rate hike in nine years at its September 16 and 17 meeting.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 2.17% from Thursday’s 2.22%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slumped 84 cents a barrel to $43.82 U.S.
Gold prices added $1.80 to $1,091.90 U.S. an ounce.
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