The Toronto stock market was negative Friday, commodity prices weakening amid disappointing trade data from the United States and heightened concern about the euro-zone after reports of more ratings downgrades to government debt.
The S&P/TSX Composite fell on the day by 43.26 points – off its lows of the day -- to end the week at 12,231.06
The Canadian dollar regressed 0.36 cents to 97.78 cents U.S.
The base metals sector was down as the March copper contract edged four cents lower to $3.61 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources declined 59 cents to $39.39 while HudBay Minerals gave back a penny to $10.50.
The gold sector was off while Barrick Gold Corp. faded 27 cents to $49.39 and Goldcorp Inc. fell 37 cents to $46.41.
Financials were also a major weight on the TSX with Royal Bank down 81 cents to $51.96 while Scotiabank lost 14 cents to $52.06.
Industrials were also weak with Canadian National Railway down $1.07 to $78.23.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that Canada's merchandise exports increased 3.2% in November over the month before, while imports declined 0.8%.
As a result, Canada's trade balance with the world went from a deficit of $487 million in October to a surplus of $1.1 billion in November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 4.47 points to 1,536.02, while the Nasdaq Canada index skidded 5.05 points to 392.83
All 14 Toronto subgroups were down on the day. Information technology sank 1.3%, global base metals were off 1.2%, and gold dipped 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks were under pressure Friday as anxious investors reacted to a report suggesting that Standard and Poor's may downgrade several euro-zone countries later in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrials backpedaled 48.96 points to go into a long weekend at 12,422.10
The S&P 500 slumped 6.40 points to 1,289.10, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 14.03 points to 2,710.67
U.S. markets are shuttered Monday for Martin Luther King Day.
JPMorgan Chase's disappointing fourth-quarter earnings also weighed on the market.
JPMorgan Chase shares fell 3%, after the bank announced it earned 90 cents per share in the fourth quarter, down from $1.12 a year earlier.
In a statement, CEO Jamie Dimon called the results "disappointing," but said JPMorgan sees "see signs of improvement in loan demand and credit quality" going forward.
Investors will be tuning into a slew of bank earnings next week. Wells Fargo and Citigroup are scheduled to report their earnings on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs reports on Wednesday, and Bank of America and Morgan Stanley weigh in on Thursday.
Financial stocks were under pressure Friday, with JPMorgan and Bank of America posting the worst losses on the Dow.
Novartis shares fell after the pharmaceutical company announced it is restructuring its U.S. business -- a move that will result in 1,960 job cuts.
The company said the restructuring will lead to a charge of $160 million U.S. in the first quarter of 2012, and an annual savings of approximately $450 million U.S. by 2013.
While solid demand at recent debt auctions in Italy and Spain calmed some investors, a Reuters report that said S&P could downgrade several euro-zone countries at some point Friday sparked a fresh bout of worries.
Though S&P has yet to officially announce the move, French Finance Minister Francois Baroin, speaking to France 2 Television, confirmed later Friday that France's "AAA" credit rating will be lowered one notch to "AA+" by the ratings agency.
Last month, the rating agency put 15 members of the euro currency union, including top-rated Germany and France, on review for a rating cut. The Reuters report, citing a "senior euro-zone source," said Germany would not be among the downgraded countries.
S&P did not comment on the report.
On the economic front, government said the nation's trade gap widened in November to $47.75 billion U.S. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expected the deficit to stand at $44 billion U.S.
December import prices slid 0.1%, while export prices were down 0.5%.
The University of Michigan also reported that its Consumer Sentiment Index for the month of January rose to 74 from 69.9 in December. Economists were expecting the index to rise to 71.2.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note jumped, pushing yields down to 1.85% from Thursday’s 1.93%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery slid 11 cents to $98.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $16.90 to settle at $1,630.80 U.S. an ounce.
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