North American markets tumbled into negative territory in afternoon trading as investors slammed the brakes on their earlier optimism.
The S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 84.21 points, to end a wild week of trading at 9,764.99, a week which saw the exchange top the 10,000 mark. Next week will be a short one, with the markets in Canada closed for Victoria Day.
On the TSX, metals stocks resumed their downwards trek, with Teck Resources Ltd. off 28 cents to $14.26.
Information technology stocks gained while Research in Motion rose $2.25 or 2.7% to $85.27.
In earnings, Anvil Mining Ltd. said a nearly 98% plunge in sales pulled the company into the red for the first three months of 2009, with a net loss of $18.8 million U.S. Anvil shares dropped a dime to $1.16.
Clearwater Seafoods Income Fund shares surged 24% after it reported a first-quarter profit of $17.9-million, reversing a year-ago loss of $21.7 million as sales rose 24%. Its stock was up 24 cents to $1.24.
Lundin Mining Corp. could suspend production at the Aguablanca nickel and copper mine in Spain later this year if there isn't a "substantial improvement" in nickel prices, its CEO said. Shares in the company were down 10 cents to $2.34.
The merger of Canadian oilpatch giants Suncor and Petro-Canada is "highly dilutive" for Petro-Canada shareholders, according to Letko Brosseau & Associates, a Montreal-based investment firm.
Suncor shares dropped 97 cents to $33.67 while Petro-Canada fell $1.09 to $41.61.
Economically speaking, Canadian factory sales unexpectedly fell in March to the lowest level since May 1999, reflecting a drop in durable goods such as aerospace products and motor vehicle parts.
Statistics Canada said factory sales declined 2.7% from the prior month to $41.4 billion.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted factory shipments would gain 1%, the median of 20 estimates. Sales have plunged by about one quarter since peaking in July, the agency said.
Canadian manufacturers have cut 103,700 jobs since December after demand from the U.S. plummeted in the second half of last year and commodity prices fell.
Meanwhile, the ailing auto industry continues to face challenges. General Motors Corp. says it will notify 1,100 U.S. dealers on Friday that their franchise agreements will not be renewed. GM said the closures - which come a day after Chrysler LLC cut ties with a quarter of its dealers - must be made as part of its government-ordered restructuring plan.
GM also has until Friday night to work out a deal with the Canadian Auto Workers union under a deadline imposed by the federal and Ontario governments.
The Canadian dollar was down 0.60 cents, also ending a roller-coaster week on a down note, to 84.84 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 13 TSX subgroups, nine had sunk into negative territory by the closing bell. The biggest drop was experienced by metals and mining stocks, off 3.4%, energy stocks, down 2.5% and materials, slumping 1.4%
The four groups that did gain ground were led upward by industrials, ahead 1.8%, information technology, gaining 1.3%, and utilities, up 0.5%.
The TSX Venture Exchange picked up 2.55 points to 1,063.07 while the Nasdaq Canada Index added 6.52 points to 688.37.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrials average fell back 62.68 points, to end the week at 8,268.64.
The S&P 500 index subsided 10.19 points on the day to 882.88, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 9.07 points, to 1,680.14.
Since hitting what many see as a bottom on March 9, stocks had been on a tear. The Dow and S&P 500 rose for eight of the nine previous weeks and the Nasdaq advanced for nine in a row.
But stocks have slumped this week. Bets that the economy is closer to stabilizing have boosted equities, but worse-than-expected reports on retail sales, housing and employment this week have raised worries that the market has gotten ahead of itself.
Declines were broad based Friday, with 24 of 30 Dow components sliding, led by Chevron, Exxon Mobil Boeing, Caterpillar, Merck and Wal-Mart Stores.
General Motors said it is notifying 1,100 U.S. dealers that their contracts will be ending. The company is expected to ultimately eliminate up to 2,600 dealers, or 42% of the total. GM shares lost 5%.
On Thursday, bankrupt automaker Chrysler informed 789 dealers, or roughly one-fourth of the total.
Nike said late Thursday that it plans to cut 5% of its workforce in a bid to cut costs.
JC Penney reported a plunge in fiscal first-quarter profit to 11 cents per share from 54 cents U.S. a year earlier. But the department store operator still managed to barely beat forecasts from analysts, who had expected profit of 10 cents per share, according to a consensus of projections from Thomson Reuters.
On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index, the most important measure of inflation for consumers, fell 0.7% year-over-year in April. That is the largest annual drop since June 1955, the Labor Department said.
The CPI for the month of April was flat compared to March, meeting the expectations of a consensus of economists from Briefing.com. In March, it slipped 0.1%.
The core CPI, excluding food and energy prices, rose 0.3% in April from the prior month, according to the government. That's more than the 0.1% increase that was expected by the Briefing.com consensus. In March, the core CPI increased 0.2%.
The Empire State index, a measure of manufacturing in the New York area, improved to a decline of negative 4.6 from a reading of negative 14.7 in April. Economists thought it would improve to negative 12.
The Treasury Department said Thursday that at least six insurers have qualified to access the government's bailout funds.
The insurers included Allstate, Ameriprise Financial, Hartford Financial Services Group, Lincoln National, Principal Financial and Prudential Financial.
Treasury prices slumped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.15% from 3.10% Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $2.28 to $56.55 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices advanced three dollars to end the week at $931.00 U.S. an ounce.
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