Canada's main stock index retreated on Friday, a day after posting its best session in five months, as miners and energy stocks slipped due to weaker commodity prices.
The TSX Composite dropped 63.41 points, to greet noon Friday at 21,134.12.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.32 cents to 80.68 cents U.S.
After snapping its seven-month winning streak in September, the Canadian equity index was on track to end October in gains helped by stronger commodities and on prospects of corporate earnings.
Eldorado Gold, down 70 cents, or 5.9%, to $11.15, led declines on the sub-sector index and was the biggest drag on the index after posting a dismal third quarter earnings.
Energy stocks were attempting a comeback by noon, though Imperial Oil staggered $1.87, o4 4.2%, to $43.23.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported real gross domestic product grew 0.4% in August, led by continued growth in services-producing industries.
The agency’s industrial product price index increased 1.0% month over month in September and 14.9% compared with the same month in 2020.
Its Raw Materials Price Index increased 2.5% on a monthly basis in September and 31.9% compared with September 2020.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 2.19 points to 953.02
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups remained negative at lunch hour, as gold tumbled 1.4%, materials were down 1% and financials faded 0.5%.
The four gainers were led by consumer discretionary stocks, up 0.4%, while energy and industrials each poked up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The U.S. stock market slipped on Friday as shares of major technology companies suffered following disappointing earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials ploughed into positive territory 44.31 points to 35,774.79
The S&P 500 came to within 1.01 points of breakeven to 4,595.41
The NASDAQ Composite caught up, but was still in the red 23.12 points to 15.425.
Amazon shares dropped 3% after the e-commerce giant badly missed earnings and revenue expectations for the third quarter. The company also issued disappointing guidance for the critical holiday period.
Apple stock fell 2.9% after the tech giant’s quarterly revenue fell short of expectations amid larger-than-expected supply constraints on iPhones, iPads and Macs. It was the first time Apple’s revenues have missed Wall Street estimates since May 2017.
Shares of Exxon Mobil and Chevron rose after the energy giants topped earnings expectations. Starbucks was under pressure after revenue from China missed expectations.
Caterpillar and Microsoft were two of the best performers in the Dow, helping the 30-stock average outperform.
Despite the recent disappointing results from Big Tech, the stock market has been raking in records amid solid earnings. About half of the S&P 500 have reported quarterly results and more than 80% of them beat earnings estimates from Wall Street analysts. S&P 500 companies are expected to grow profit by 38.6% year over year.
All three major averages are on track to post a winning week, their fourth positive week in a row. Month to date, the S&P 500 is up 6.7%, on pace for its best monthly performance since November 2020. The blue-chip Dow has gained 5.6% in October, while the NASDAQ has rallied 6.9%.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys were higher, thus lowering yields to 4.156% from Thursday’s 1.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved positive 11 cents to $82.92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices reversed $23.60 to $1,779 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
