North American stock markets finished slightly lower but posted weekly gains, this despite misfortunes in the oil patch ahead of a meeting this weekend of major world oil powers.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index remained negative 31.09 points to end the day and the week at 13,637.20, paring a weekly gain to 1.8%.
The Canadian dollar moved higher 0.07 cents to 77.9 cents U.S.
Bombardier Inc. jumped nine cents, or 5.9%, to an October high of $1.62, with the aircraft manufacturer said to be near an agreement to sell as many as 75 C Series jetliners to Delta Air Lines Inc., according to sources. The deal would be the largest to date for the struggling program.
Mitel Networks Corp. plunged 97 cents, or 9.6%, the most since February, to $9.11, after the communications company agreed to buy Polycom Inc. in a $1.96-billion deal in cash and stock. The deal represents an 11% premium compared with Polycom’s close on Thursday.
In the oil patch, Baytex Energy lost a penny to $5.58, while Crescent Point Energy faded 76 cents, or 3.9%, to $18.94.
Health-care stocks took their lumps, most notably Valeant Pharmaceuticals, down 39 cents to $41.27.
Gold shone brightest on the day, as Yamana Gold sprinted up 29 cents, or 5.9%, to $5.19, and Kinross Gold climbed 17 cents, or 3.2%, to $5.47.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported manufacturing sales for February slumped 3.3% to $51.2 billion, following three months of consecutive gains.
According to figures published by the Canadian Real Estate Association, national home sales posted their third monthly increase and broke all previous monthly records. National home sales rose by 1.5% from February to March. Actual (not seasonally-adjusted) activity was up 12.2% compared to March 2015.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.42 points to 633.84
Eight of the 13 TSX subgroups were negative on the day, as energy waned 2.3%, while health-care settled 0.9%, and telecoms dropped off 0.4%.
The five gainers were led by gold, up 2.3%, materials, charging ahead 1.4%, and consumer staples, gaining 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed lower Friday, with energy stocks leading declines as oil prices fell ahead of a highly anticipated weekend meeting of oil producers.
The Dow Jones Industrials backtracked 28.97 points to close at 17,897.46, as Apple and Goldman Sachs contributed the most to declines in the Dow.
The S&P 500 dropped 3.16 points to 2,079.62. Energy traded more than 1% lower as the worst S&P 500 performer, followed by information technology.
The NASDAQ index lost 7.67 points to 4,938.22
Apple fell more than 1.5% in afternoon trade following a Nikkei report the iPhone maker will continue reduced production of the device from April to June in light of sluggish sales, according to a parts supplier notified of the plan.
Citigroup posted first-quarter earnings per share of $1.10, falling 27% from $1.51 U.S. a share in the year-earlier period. Revenue for the quarter came in at $17.55 billion U.S., against the comparable year-ago figure of $19.81 billion U.S. However, both earnings and revenue topped expectations.
The stock gave up gains to trade slightly lower in afternoon trade.
In other corporate news, Bats Global Markets made its second attempt at an initial public offering, pricing its IPO late Thursday at $19.00 U.S. a share, the high end of the expected range. The company's previous IPO attempt four years ago failed due to technical issues.
Economic news was mixed, with the Empire State Manufacturing Survey rising nine points in April to 9.6, its highest in more than a year, while U.S. industrial production fell 0.6% in March, more than expected. Consumer sentiment was 89.7.
Oil producers led by top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia plan to meet Sunday in Doha, Qatar, to discuss freezing output around current levels in an effort to contain a global supply glut.
Overnight, official data showed China's gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 6.7% in the first quarter, a touch below the fourth-quarter's 6.8% rate.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 1.75% from Thursday’s 1.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped $1.12 a barrel to $40.38 U.S.
Gold prices took on $6.45 to $1,234.34 U.S. an ounce.
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