Toronto's main stock index opened lower on Friday as softer commodity prices and disappointing earnings from some major U.S. companies hurt sentiment.
The S&P TSX Composite Index dipped 3.07 points in the first hour of trading to 12,377.62.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.28 cents to 98.60 cents U.S.
Among Canadian stocks to watch, struggling oil sands developer Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd said its board initiated a strategic review of the company's business.
Grande Cache Coal said on Thursday its proposed $1-billion takeover is on track even though a research report alleged fraud at one of the acquiring companies.
On matters economic, Statistics Canada reported this morning that the annual inflation rate grew at 2.3% in December, a 0.6-percentage-point drop over November, due largely to slower growth in prices for gasoline and food, and actual drops in purchases of motor vehicles.
The nation’s number crunchers also told us this morning that wholesale sales fell 0.4% to $49.0 billion in November, after six straight upward months, due mostly to declines in sales of farm supplies and motor vehicles.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 0.36 points to 1,554.56, while the Nasdaq Canada index erased 1.66 points to 409.16.
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups started the day lower. Metals and mining took a 1.4% hit, while global base metals suffered 0.8% and energy was 0.4% less energetic.
The four gainers were led upward by gold, ahead 0.4%, financials, up 0.3%, and real-estate, gaining 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, investors were unwilling to place any big bets early Friday, as key Greek debt talks remain unresolved and tech shares remain under pressure following Google's weak earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials began the final session of a short week up 46.20 points to 12,670.20
The S&P 500 deducted 4.55 points to 1,309.95, while the Nasdaq Composite skidded 4.13 points to 2,785.42.
Investors are still weighing quarterly results from some of the nation's biggest tech firms that reported after the bell Thursday. Microsoft, Intel and IBM posted solid fourth-quarter earnings but Google badly missed Wall Street forecasts.
Google shares plunged more than 7% Friday, while IBM and Microsoft both gained more than 2%. Intel shares were up 0.1%.
U.S. stocks advanced Thursday, for a third straight session, thanks to solid gains from financial stocks. Shares of both Bank of America and Morgan Stanley gained after the firms released their quarterly results.
U.S. markets have more corporate earnings to digest, after Dow component General Electric reported its quarterly results Friday morning. The company's earnings just beat forecasts, but GE's shares fell 2.2%, as its revenue fell short of expectations.
Shares of Apple edged slightly lower, a day after the tech giant's market cap briefly topped $400 billion U.S.
Shares of Carnival Corp., which owns the grounded Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia, remain under pressure. Carnival's stock has shed 7% since the Jan. 13 accident. Shares were down another 2% Friday.
Investors continue to fear repercussions from the European debt crisis, particularly the prospect that Greece may end up defaulting in a disorderly fashion. A deal on restructuring Greek debt remained elusive on Thursday, but talks continue Friday.
The deal is a key condition for Greece to receive additional bailout funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Without additional financial support, Greece may not be able to make a €14-billion payment it owes on bonds that comes due March 20.
Officials from the IMF, E.U. and European Central bank, known as the troika, are also in Athens reviewing the nation's finances.
Economically speaking, this morning, investors will get a report on existing home sales from the National Association of Realtors. Sales are expected to have risen 2.9% in December, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
Homes are expected to have sold at an annual rate of 4.55 million, up from a rate of 4.42 million in November.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note eased, pushing yields up to 2.01% from Thursday’s 1.97%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery retreated $2.16 to $98.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $1.50 to $1,653.00 U.S. an ounce.
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