A wild week on Bay Street resulted in weekly losses for the big board, mostly due to hits administered to energy and health-care issues.
The TSX Composite Index dumped 378.97 points, or 2.3%, to close Friday and the week at 16,175.02. The index lost 88 points on the week, or 0.54%.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.13 cents to 74.52 cents U.S.
Energy took the biggest knocks, as Vermilion Energy lost $2.42, or 19%, to $10.29, while Crescent Point Energy was belted 41 cents, or 12.4%, to $2.90.
In health-care, Aurora Cannabis fell 23 cents, or 13%, to $1.54, Canopy Growth subsided $2.12, or 9.4%, to $20.33.
Technology stocks took much of the brunt of the selloff, with Descartes Systems Group suffering $4.13, or 7.2%, to $52.99, while Lightspeed POS lagging $3.08, or 9.4%. to $29.71.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that employment was little changed in February, the economy having created 30,000 jobs and the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 5.6%.
Elsewhere, the agency reported that Canada's merchandise exports fell 2.0% in January, while imports were down 0.5%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $732 million in December 2019 to $1.5 billion in January.
Western University’s IVEY Purchasing Managers Index rolled in for February. The index skidded to 51.7 last month from January's reading of 57.3, but way above the 50.6 level in February 2019. Still, any reading above 50 constitutes expansion of purchases.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 14.73 points, or 2.8%, to 506.54, for a gain on the week of eight points, or 1.8%.
All 12 TSX subgroups were on the negative side, with energy swooning 7.2%, health-care losing 6.7%, and information technology falling 4.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Friday, capping a tumultuous trading week on Wall Street, as coronavirus fears kept investors on edge.
The Dow Jones Industrials finished lower 256.5 points, or 1%, to end the session and the week at 25,864.78.
The broader S&P 500 dived 88.03 points, or 2.9%, to 2,935.91.
The NASDAQ plunged 262.72 points, or 3%, to 8,475.87.
The Dow was up 1.7% on the week, while the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, and the NASDAQ rose 0.1%. The benchmarks are still in correction territory, however, down at least 10% from their recent peaks.
Airline stocks rebounded on Friday, providing the broad market some support, after chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow said the White House is considering “targeted measures” to offset the negative impact on the industry from the coronavirus outbreak. United Airlines jumped 2%, while Delta Air Lines rose 1%.
Stocks remained sharply lower even after a blowout jobs report. The U.S. economy added 273,000 jobs in February, beating expectations of 175,000 new payrolls last month. The unemployment rate also fell back to 3.5%, matching its lowest level in more than 50 years.
The expanding health crisis kept investors on edge as global cases of the coronavirus infections surpassed 100,000 with at least 3,383 deaths around the world. In the U.S., at least 12 people have died of the disease. California has declared a state of emergency, while the number of infections in New York reached 22.
President Donald Trump on Friday signed a sweeping spending bill of an $8.3-billion package to aid prevention efforts and research to quickly produce a vaccine for the deadly disease.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury moved sharply higher, lowering yields to 0.78% from Thursday’s 0.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid $4.28 to $41.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up seven dollars to $1,675 U.S. an ounce.
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