The Toronto stock market was negative Friday as commodity prices fell back amid data showing marginal growth in U.S. employment and uncertainty surrounding the euro-zone’s debt crisis.
The S&P/TSX composite index descended 60.10 points to end the day and week at 12,408.25
The Canadian dollar weakened 0.87 cents to 98.36 cents U.S.
Possible damage to the euro-zone’s financial sector and the latest sign of weakness in the Canadian economy pushed the TSX financial sector down Royal Bank gave back $1.13 to $45.85 and Manulife Financial lost 32 cents to $12.79.
The TSX energy sector lost ground as Canadian Natural Resources dropped 50 cents to $37.73 and Suncor Energy dropped 31 cents to $32.89.
The base metals sector stepped back while the December copper contract on the Nymex was three cents lower at $3.56 U.S. a pound. First Quantum Minerals declined 46 cents to $22.81 and HudBay Minerals stepped back 13 cents to $10.86.
The gold sector was off while Barrick Gold Corp. was down 27 cents to $52.23.
Centerra Gold Inc. reported a five-fold increase in third-quarter profits on Thursday, citing an increase in sales and higher realized prices for gold for the big improvement.
The Toronto-based miner earned $83.8 million U.S. or 35 cents per share while revenue increased to $278.4 million U.S. from $119.9 million in the same period last year. Its shares gained one cent to $21.03.
The industrials sector was also weak with Bombardier Inc. down six cents to $4.13.
Air Canada shares were three cents lower at $1.36. The airline beat expectations even though it lost $124 million or 45 cents per share in the summer period. Excluding foreign exchange losses, its adjusted profit was $270 million, or 55 cents per share, seven cents above analyst expectations.
In other earnings news, Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust reported its net profit rose nearly 10% to $11.3 million in the latest quarter as the company benefited from property acquisitions. Its units picked up a dime to $35.54.
Economically speaking, figures released this morning by Statistics Canada showed our country’s jobs market suffered its biggest loss in 2 ½ years last month, driving the unemployment rate up two notches to 7.3% as the economy shed a massive 54,000 jobs overall, most of them in manufacturing and construction.
It was the biggest one-month job loss since March 2009, in the midst of the worst recession in decades, and came amid persistent fears that Europe’s debt crisis, the weak U.S. recovery and slower Asian growth will hit Canada.
Elsewhere, the nation’s number-crunchers reported this morning that contractors took out $5.6 billion worth of building permits in September, down 4.9% from August and the third consecutive monthly decline.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained back 7.57 points to 1,650.01, while the Nasdaq Canada index gained 1.35 points to 427.77
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers. Health-care led the former group, up 2%, metals and mining progressed 0.9% while global base metals chugged along 0.8%.
The seven laggards were weighed mostly by financials, off 1.4%, while energy and real-estate issues demurred 0.6% each.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks stayed under pressure with all major U.S. indexes falling about 2% for the week. Investors remained wary over whether Greece could default on its debt and what that might mean for the global financial system.
The Dow Jones Industrials faded 61.23 points, off its lows for the day, to 11,983.20
The S&P 500 regressed 7.92 points to 1,253.23, while the Nasdaq Composite Index tripped 11.82 points to 2,686.15.
Bank stocks were the among the day's biggest laggards. Bank of America saw its share price fall more than 6%, after disclosing that it would convert debt into more equity. Shares of Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, and Morgan Stanley also fell.
With most stocks down, investors finally had their shot to buy a sliver of shares of the daily deals site Groupon, which started trading on Nasdaq Friday. Its shares immediately popped, jumping as much as 50%. Groupon priced its initial public offering at $20 U.S. a share late Thursday.
Before the market open, Jon Corzine resigned as the CEO of bankrupt brokerage firm MF Global. He said he won't seek severance pay.
Late Thursday, bailed-out insurance firm AIG posted a net loss of $4.1 billion U.S., or $2.16 a share, for the third quarter. While analysts hadn't expected the company to post a profit, the size of the loss exceeded expectations.
Greece once again dominated as the world awaited a vote on its prime minister's future, scheduled for Friday night. Future leadership of Greece is likely to decide whether the nation will take the necessary steps to avoid a default on its sovereign debt.
Meanwhile, G-20 leaders agreed to an 'action plan' to boost economic growth and stabilize the financial system as they wrapped up their meeting in Cannes, France.
Still investors said the pledge didn't do enough to inspire confidence that politicians have tools to stop contagion in Greece from spreading throughout the banking system.
On the economic front, a government report, released before the open, that the U.S. economy added 80,000 jobs in October did little to inspire confidence. Economists were expecting a gain of 98,000 jobs in October.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury retreated, raising the yield to 2.05% from 2.01% late Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for October delivery gained 54 cents to $94.49 U.S. a barrel
Gold for December delivery slipped $9.00 to $1,756.10 U.S. an ounce.
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