Financials led the way to a negative session on the Toronto stock market Friday as euro-zone debt worries competed with data showing U.S. employment growth which breezed past expectations.
The S&P/TSX Composite fizzled 38.20 points as noon neared to 12,199.20
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.35 cents to 97.71 cents U.S.
Worries about spreading bank problems weighed on the TSX financial sector with Royal Bank down 62 cents to $51.72, while TD Bank slipped 35 cents to $76.30.
The energy sector backed off while Suncor Energy shed 15 cents to $31.31.
The gold sector gained as Barrick Gold Corp. gained 29 cents to $49.15.
The metals and mining sector was flat while March copper was down a cent at $3.42 U.S. a pound. Ivanhoe Mines climbed nine cents to $19.23.
On the corporate front, the Jean Coutu Group, Quebec’s largest drug store chain, reported net profits in its fiscal third quarter rose to $51.7 million or 23 cents a share. That compared with net earnings of $48.8 million or 21 cents a year ago. Revenue increased to $700.1 million from $681.1 million and its shares gained 10 cents to $12.94.
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 5.44 points to 1,522.90, while the Nasdaq Canada index nosed ahead 1.88 points to 384.02
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were negative by lunch hour. Energy stocks slid 0.6%, global base metals were off 0.5%, and industrials fell 0.4%.
The gainers were led by consumer discretionaries, up 1.5%, information technology, ahead 0.6%, and health-care stocks, up 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks fell Friday as worries about Europe's debt crisis overshadowed a better-than-expected report on U.S. payrolls.
The Dow Jones Industrials was off 26.49 points to break for lunch at 12,389.20
The S&P 500 sidled back 0.34 points to 1,280.72, while the Nasdaq Composite forged ahead 7.35 points to 2,677.21.
Some analysts said the jobs report was skewed by seasonal factors, while others said the response was muted because investors were anticipating a big gain.
In any event, traders said the market remains stymied by worries about government debt and banking problems in Europe.
Government borrowing costs remain at elevated levels in Europe, with the yield on the 10-year Italian bond above 7% yet again. And Spanish bond yields also remain high, with the 10-year hovering around 5.6%.
The euro fell 0.6% versus the dollar, holding at a 15-month low.
In the United States, shares of Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup were all down substantially.
Shares of Dow component Alcoa fell 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 1.96% from Thursday’s 1.99%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery doffed 46 cents to $101.35 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $2.40 to $1,617.70 U.S. an ounce.
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