Stocks closed out a short week following Labour Day in the red, mostly on weakness in telecoms and financials, as investors displayed jittery nerves on the trade front.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed in the red, but fought its way to within 10.67 points of breakeven to close Friday and the week at 16,090.27
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.15 cents to 75.89 cents.
The TSX has closed lower in the past fix sessions in a row and is set for biggest weekly decline in 24 weeks at the current level.
U.S. and Canadian negotiators pushed ahead in grinding talks to rescue the North American Free Trade Agreement on Thursday, but a few stubborn issues stood in the way of a deal, including dairy quotas, protection for Canadian media companies, and how to resolve future trade disputes.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Enghouse Systems, which jumped $4.31, or 5.3%, to $85.15 after its quarterly results, followed by Sierra Wireless, that rose $1.25, or 5.1%, to $25.93.
Gold saw the light of day, as Barrick Gold acquired 21 cents, or 1.6%, to $13.24, while Kinross Gold moved up seven cents, or 1.8%, to $3.73.
Among material stocks, Agnico Eagle Mines gained 76 cents, or 1.8%, to $43.71.
Transcontinental Inc. fell $2.83, or 9.5%, to $26.88, the most on the TSX, after its quarterly results. Also falling among telecoms: BCE Inc., off 27 cents to $52.87.
In the financial sector, Manulife gave up six cents to $23.24, while Royal Bank lost 46 cents to $103.60.
Among industrial concerns, Canadian Pacific Railway stalled 76 cents to $273.51.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that the economy lost 52,000 jobs in August, after two straight months of increases.
Part-time employment declined by 92,000 while full-time employment edged up.
At the same time, the unemployment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 6.0%
Western University’s IVEY School of Business announced its Purchasing Managers Index for August stood at 61.9, indicating that purchases were greater than the previous month. The figure compared to 61.8 in July and 56.3 in August 2017.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 2.5 points to 712.06
Eight of the 12 subgroups were lower Friday, weighed most by telecoms, sprawling 0.8%, and financials and industrials each retreated 0.3%.
The four gainers were led by information technology, improving 1.1%, gold, shinier by 0.5%, and materials, 0.4% more solid.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Friday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. is ready to slap tariffs on an additional $267 billion worth in Chinese goods.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average came off its lows of the morning, but still finished negative by 79.33 points to 25,916.54
The S&P 500 settled 6.37 points to 2,871.68
The NASDAQ moved lower 20.18 points to 7,902.54, to finish down for the fourth straight week.
Apple dropped to session lows heading into the close after a report said the company told the U.S. government the proposed tariffs on Chinese goods would impact several Apple products. Apple shares traded 0.6% lower.
Tesla shares fell as much as 9% after Dave Morton, the company's chief accounting officer, resigned from his post. Morton said in a statement he left because of "the level of public attention placed on the company."
Equities fell earlier in the session after the release of strong wage data.
Average hourly earnings rose 2.9% for the month on an annualized basis, marking the largest jump since 2009. The U.S. economy added 201,000 jobs in August, more than the expected increase of 191,000.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the possibility of the U.S. and China reaching a trade deal are fading as the Trump administration tries to revamp NAFTA. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reports that the U.S. and Canada will likely end the week with no trade deal in place.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump hinted to a Wall Street Journal columnist that he could take his trade fights to Japan next. The news sent the dollar lower against the yen on Friday morning.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury languished, spiking yields to 2.94% from Thursday’s 2.88%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 10 cents to $67.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $2.60 to $1,201.70
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