Equities in Toronto fell on Friday, weighed down by weakness in energy stocks, while concerns over delays to a new U.S. stimulus package further dented sentiment.
The TSX remained negative 92.6 points to move into noon hour at 17,500.74
The Canadian dollar surrendered 0.14 cents to 78.34 cents U.S.
Enerplus fell 13 cents, or 3.1%, the most on the TSX, to $4.09, and the second biggest decliner was cancer drug developer Trillium Therapeutics, down 28 cents, or 1.8%, to $15.58.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Transcontinental, which jumped $1.77, or 8.8%, to $22.00, after multiple brokerages raised the price target of the printing company, and lumber provider Interfor, which rose 60 cents, or 2.7%, to $23.00.
Speaking of things macroeconomic, Statistics Canada reported the ratio of Canadian household debt-to-income narrowed to 170.9% in the third quarter from a revised 172.1% in the second quarter.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sprinted 5.86 points, as morning became afternoon, to 781.20.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower midday, as health-care lost 1.4%, information technology dipped 1.3%, and consumer discretionary fell 1%.
The three gainers were consumer staples, edging up 0.2%, while utilities made it 0.1% past breakeven, and gold, crept up but 0.04%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell on Friday, on pace for their first weekly loss in three weeks, as the outlook for additional fiscal stimulus remained uncertain.
The 30-stock index slid 81.96 points to pause for lunch at 29,917.30.
The S&P 500 ditched 23.05 points to 3,645.05. Both the Dow and S&P 500 were headed for a three-day losing streak. For the week, the Dow was off 0.7% and the S&P 500 capsized 0.8%.
The NASDAQ swooned 107.78 points to 12,298.03. The NASDAQ entered Friday’s session down 0.5% week to date.
Shares of Facebook and Apple each fell more than 1% to lead tech lower. Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet were also under pressure.
Friday’s decline came as negotiations over a coronavirus relief deal dragged on. Lawmakers seek to pass a bill before lifelines expire at the end of 2020, but disagreements over state and local stimulus, unemployment assistance and stimulus checks still exist.
News reports have Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s staff informing congressional leadership offices that Senate Republicans likely would not support a $908-billion bipartisan proposal. Earlier on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that bipartisan negotiations were leading to "great progress."
The House has passed a one-week federal spending extension to avoid a shutdown through Dec. 18 to buy more time to reach a stimulus agreement.
Without fresh stimulus, millions of Americans could lose unemployment benefits in the New Year. Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims jumped last week to 853,000, the highest total since Sept. 19, as new lockdown restrictions weighed on businesses amid rising coronavirus cases.
Sentiment was downbeat on Friday even as a key Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended the approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. The recommendation marked the last step before the FDA gives the final approval to broadly distribute the first doses throughout the U.S.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 0.88% from Thursday’s 0.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices docked 19 cents to $46.59 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $9.70 to $1,847.10.
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