The Toronto stock market was little changed Friday as the latest U.S. employment data widely missed expectations and further cemented the view that the U.S. economy is rapidly slowing.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the day 1.59 points below breakeven to 13,517.91
The Canadian dollar fell 0.24 cents to 102.26 cents U.S.
Much of the bad news had been priced in two days ago after the ADP payrolls firm said that private employers in the U.S. only added 38,000 jobs during the month -- much less than the 175,000 expected.
Canadian jobless figures don’t roll in until next Friday.
The showing on the TSX left the market more than 800 points below its recent high reached in early March, but experts don’t think this warns of a serious slump.
The tech sector led decliners with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. down $1.49 to $37.99.
Base metal prices ticked higher with the July copper contract up five cents at $4.13 U.S. a pound after three days of losses, but the base metals sector moved down, as HudBay Minerals fell six cents to $14.74 and Ivanhoe Mines lost 97 cents to $22.93.
The energy sector strengthened, as declines in oil prices moderated after concerns that a weaker U.S. economy will translate into lower demand sent crude close to the $98 U.S. level earlier.
Suncor Energy advanced 41 cents to $39.54 while Cenovus Energy climbed 75 cents to $34.88.
The gold sector was also higher as precious metal prices took off following the jobs data with Goldcorp Inc. adding 43 cents to $48.01 while Barrick Gold Corp. declined 30 cents to $44.76.
On the corporate front, Sino-Forest Corp. fell a further $9.21 or 63.7% to $5.25 on heavy volume of 31.6 million shares on top of a 20% slide Thursday. The tumble was triggered after a U.S. financial analyst accused the company of wildly exaggerating its assets and fabricating sales transactions.
On Friday, the company denied the allegations and said it has appointed an independent committee of directors to investigate the allegations made by Muddy Waters Research.
Microwave data transmission technology specialist DragonWave Inc. has cut first-quarter revenue expectations to $11 million U.S. from a prior prediction of $15 million U.S. The revision came after one customer deferred a "significant" shipment of equipment and another suffered regulatory delays. Its shares fell 33 cents to $5.77.
Grande Cache Coal Corp. says its fourth-quarter profits rose to $5.1 million or five cents per share, an increase from $1.4 million, or a penny per share, in the same period a year ago.
Revenue was $67.3 million, up from $50.7 million, but its shares were off two cents at $7.98.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 2.40 points to 2,055.62 while the Nasdaq Canada index subtracted 14.70 points to 630.21
In Toronto, 10 of the 14 subgroups lost ground. Global base metals declined 1.3%, while the metals and mining group lost 1.1%, and information technology gave back 1%.
The four gaining groups were led by real-estate, ahead 0.7%, energy, up 0.4%, and financials, inching up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was headed for its fifth straight week of declines on Friday, as traders continued to work through a disappointing jobs report.
By the close, the blue chips had stumbled 97.29 points to 12,151.30
The S&P 500 staggered 12.78 points to 1,300.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 40.53 points, to 2,732.78.
The selling was broad, with 27 out of 30 Dow components lower. Economy-sensitive companies such as General Electric, Alcoa and Boeing were among the biggest drags.
Technology shares were also taking a hit in late-afternoon trading, with Research in Motion leading the declines on the Nasdaq along with by Nvidia and Amazon.com
Investors also flocked to the safety of U.S. Treasuries, sending the yield on the 10-year note back under 3% for the third day in a row.
Wal-Mart announced a new $15-billion U.S. share repurchase program on Friday at its annual shareholder meeting. Shares of Wal-Mart edged higher.
Shares of Newell Rubbermaid dropped 12% after the company cut its full-year 2011 earnings and sales guidance.
The U.S. Treasury announced Friday it sold off its last remaining stake of Chrysler Group LLC to Italian automaker Fiat, which already holds a controlling share. The Treasury said Thursday that it will sell its 6% stake -- 98,461 shares -- to Fiat for $500 million U.S.
Late Thursday, online coupon company Groupon filed for a $750-million U.S. initial public offering. Groupon plans to trade under the symbol "GRPN."
Economically speaking, over the past few months, investors have been faced with increasing signs that the recovery is stalling. Stocks had their worst monthly performance in May since August 2010.
The government's May jobs report out on Friday only added to those worries.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally-adjusted 54,000 in May, the smallest gain since September, while the unemployment rate reached 9.1%, a level unseen since December.
Elsewhere, the Institute for Supply Management said its May services index rose to a reading of 54.6, beating the reading of 53.3 economists had forecasted. A reading of more than 50 signals an expansion in the sector.
The price of the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury grew, dropping the yield to 3.00% from Thursday’s 3.03%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil for July delivery gained nine cents to $100.49 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for July delivery rose $9.70 to $1,541.90 U.S. an ounce.
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