Equities in Canada’s largest centre hesitated midday Friday, weighed by retreats among heavyweight bank and energy shares as oil prices slid and solid U.S. jobs data added to the case for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike next month.
The S&P/TSX Composite dropped 57.47 points to greet noon at 14,525.95. The index was on track for a 1.8% decline on the week.
The Canadian dollar retreated 0.09 cents to 74.55 cents U.S.
The energy group fell, with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd down 2.7% to $39.84. The oil sands producer was set to become the first to restart a deferred major project since the global oil price slump began in 2014.
The most influential weights also included several big banks, with Toronto-Dominion Bank down 1.1% to $59.74 and Royal Bank of Canada off 0.9% to $81.98.
Sierra Wireless Inc jumped 10.7% to $18.57 and Secure Energy Services Inc gained 8.5% to $8.56 after each reported quarterly earnings.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 44,000 jobs in October, bringing the unemployment rate to 7%, as more people participated in the labour market.
What’s more, the agency reported that Canada's imports rose 4.7% to a record $47.6 billion in September. Exports edged up 0.1% to $43.5 billion.
As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $2 billion in August to a record $4.1 billion in September.
Western University’s Ivey School of Business reported its Purchasing Managers’ Index registered 59.7 in October, compared to 58.4 in September, and 53.1 in October 2015
(Remember also that the clocks turn back on the weekend, as much of the nation returns to Standard Time).
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was down 1.77 to 759.19.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups remained lower, with gold declining 1.3%, while energy and materials each surrendered 0.8%.
The three gainers were utilities, up 1%, while real-estate and information technology each gained 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities alternated between gains and losses on Friday after the release of key employment data while investors looked out for new developments from the presidential election.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 35.58 points to open at 17,966.25, with Home Depot gaining the most.
The S&P 500 added 7.31 points at 2,095.95, looking to snap an eight-day losing streak, with health-care leading advancers.
The NASDAQ composite index recovered 17.72 points to 5,076.21
Jobs in the U.S. grew by 161,000 last month, while economists expected an increase of 175,000. The unemployment rate stood at 4.9%—in line with expectations —as investors got to digest the final payrolls report before Tuesday's presidential election.
But the bigger number in the report could be wages, with average hourly earnings climbing 10 cents and reflecting a 2.8% annualized increase, according to the report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
On the election front, the race between Republican Donald Trump and his Democratic counterpart, Hillary Clinton, has become tighter since last week, when the FBI said it was investigating new emails related to Clinton.
According to sources, the average spread between Clinton and Trump is now just 1.7 points in a four-way race, down from about five points last week.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury strengthened, lowering yields to 1.78% from Thursday’s 1.81%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank 80 cents to $43.68 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices recovered $2.50 to $1,305.80 U.S. an ounce.
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