Toronto's resource-heavy stock index retreated on Friday as data showing a higher December unemployment rate dampened sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite eased 50.97 points to begin the session 12,186.43
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.5 cents to 97.67 cents U.S.
Among Canadian stocks to watch this morning, drugstore chain Jean Coutu said its third-quarter profit rose 5.9%, helped in part by new store openings.
Drug maker Cangene Corp. said it will cut 120 positions, about 17% of its workforce, and save $6 million to $7 million per year.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported this morning that unemployment rose to 7.5% in December and the only jobs added were part-time and self-employment positions. Full-time jobs fell by 25,500, but the net gain (full- and part-time) was 18,000.
The nation’s number crunchers further stated that over the past 12 months, employment growth totalled 199,000, or 1.2%, but with nearly all of the gains in the first half of the year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 2.21 points to 1,519.63, while the Nasdaq Canada index slid 0.51 points to 381.63
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups started the day lower. Financials and global base metals skidded 0.9% each, while industrials demurred 0.7%.
The three gainers were consumer discretionary and information technology stocks, each up 0.2%, which gold wiggled up 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks stumbled Friday, despite a stronger-than-expected jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 67.59 points to begin a short week’s final session at 12,348.10
The S&P 500 staggered 5.25 points to 1,275.81, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 8.37 points to 2,661.49.
Stocks are coming off of a mixed close Thursday, as investors weighed fears about Europe's debt crisis against upbeat reports on the U.S. economy.
Shares of Dow component Alcoa fell more than 2% in pre-market trading, after the aluminum producer said it will cuts its global smelting capacity 12% in response to a drop in aluminum prices.
On the economic front, the American economy gained 200,000 jobs in December, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Economist had expected a gain of 150,000 jobs. The unemployment rate also slipped to 8.5%.
Economists were forecasting the unemployment rate to tick up to 8.7% from 8.6% in November, mainly due to discouraged workers -- who had previously given up their job searches -- re-entering the labour force.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note gained slightly, driving the yields down to 1.98% from Thursday’s 1.99%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery regained 35 cents to $102.16 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery gained $3.60 to $1,623.70 U.S. an ounce
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