Readings from Canada’s largest stock market fell on Friday in a broad retreat after a weak jobs report and as falling oil prices weighed on energy stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 71.3 points after Thursday’s double-digit hike, to open Friday at 12,703.20.
The Canadian dollar slumbered 0.32 cents to 72.41 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index including Barrick Gold, which fell 2% to $15.11, and Canadian Natural Resources, which declined 2.6% to $29.52.
Pipeline operator Enbridge declined 1.5% to $46.95 and Suncor Energy lost 0.9% to $31.52.
Dairy company Saputo rose 2.6% to $36.12 as analysts upped their price targets on the stock following quarterly earnings.
Barclays raised the target price on Brookfield Renewable Energy to $37.00 from $35.00 with an equal-weight rating.
Brookfield units picked up 35 cents, or 1%, to $36.72.
Canaccord Genuity raised the rating on Wi-Lan to speculative buy from hold.
Wi-Lan shares gained five cents, or 3%, to $1.71.
On a crowded day for economic numbers, Statistics Canada reported this morning that our economy lost 5,700 jobs, in January, and the unemployment rate eked up to 7.2%.
Moreover, the agency said Canada's exports increased 3.9% in December and imports were up 1.6%. Consequently, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $1.6 billion in November to $585 million in December.
Finally, Western University in London, Ontario reported that its Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) registered 66 by the end of January, compared to 49.9 in December, and 45.4 in January 2015.
The PMI asks purchasing managers if their purchases went up, down or stayed static during the month, and any reading over 50 denotes an overall increase.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange erased 0.47 points Friday morning at 504.01
All but two of the 13 TSX subgroups were negative in the first hour, with information technology suffering 1.5%, metals and mining down 1.2%, and gold dulling in price 0.8%.
The two gainers were real-estate, inching up 0.3%, and consumer staples eking up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities fell on Friday as investors digested mixed U.S. employment data.
The Dow Jones industrial average faded 65.3 points to start Friday at 16,351.28, with Johnson & Johnson leading decliners and Goldman Sachs the greatest advancer.
The S&P 500 skidded 12.05 points to 1,903.40, with energy leading seven sectors lower and financials the biggest advancer.
The NASDAQ index dropped 56.39 points to 4,453.17, as Apple and biotechnology stocks dropped.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the stateside economy added 151,000 jobs in January, in contrast to a gain of 190,000 projected by economists. The unemployment rate, however, fell to 4.9% from 5%
Another data set released Friday was the U.S. trade deficit, which widened in December amid a rising dollar and a weak global demand.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dipped slightly, raising yields to 1.88% from Thursday’s 1.86%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 52 cents a barrel to $31.20 U.S.
Gold prices dumped $6.34 to $1,149.25 U.S. an ounce.
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