Canada's main stock index fell on Friday, pressured by losses in health-care and energy shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 35.55 points to greet noon Friday at 15,109.33
The Canadian dollar gained 0.12 cents at 76.03 U.S.
Technology stocks were hurt by a drop of $2.50, or 1.3%, in shares of Shopify Inc, to $195.37, while gains in industrials were kept in check by a fall in shares of Bombardier, amounting to 27 cents, or 12.9%, to $1.82.
Quebec's securities regulator asked Bombardier to halt executive share sales plan after revealing an ongoing probe into stock transactions by company executives.
Health-care issues were hit hard by Canopy Growth’s losses, totaling 79 cents per share, or 1.7%, to $45.65, while shares in Bausch Health Companies were lower by 77 cents, or 2.3%, to $33.06.
In energy stocks, Suncor gave back 30 cents to $43.87.
Top percentage gainers on the TSX were shares of gold miners, Eldorado Gold, which rose three cents, or 3.7%, to 84 cents, and Iamgold Corp, which rose 17 cents, or 4.1%, to $4.23.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Thursday denied a report that he had told some industry executives that another round of tariffs on Chinese imports had been put on hold as the two nations pursue talks.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that foreign investment in Canadian securities totaled $7.7 billion in September, mainly acquisitions of money market instruments.
At the same time, Canadian investment in foreign securities resumed to reach $10.6 billion, led by purchases of non-U.S. instruments.
Moreover, the agency said, manufacturing sales edged up 0.2% in September to $58.5 billion, following a 0.5% decrease in August.
Sales increased in eight of 21 industries, led by higher sales in the transportation equipment industry.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 0.67 points, to 623.67
Seven of the 12 subgroups were higher, with gold up 1.2%, materials stronger by 0.5%, and consumer staples, better by 0.4%.
The five laggards were weighed most by health-care, subsiding 2%, energy, 1% less energetic, and financials, poorer by 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were on pace to post sharp weekly losses on Friday after a strong downturn in technology shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average came off its highs of the morning, but still gained 14.5 points to 25,303.77
The S&P 500 dropped into the red 5.13 points to 2,723.98
The NASDAQ fell 58.29 points to 7,200.74
The S&P 500 is down 1.8% this week, while the Dow and NASDAQ have both fallen 2.5%.
Technology, the biggest sector in the S&P 500 by market cap, is the second-worst performer this week, falling 2.6%. The sector is down following steep losses in Apple. The tech giant is down nearly 5%, week to date, as Wall Street analysts worry iPhone sales will slow down. Tech-related shares like Amazon slid 6.4%, and Netflix was off 5.4%.
Tech was under pressure again on Friday as shares of Nvidia plunged 17% on disappointing revenue and guidance.
The also come as investors fretted over political developments overseas amid heightened fears the U.K. could soon crash out of the European Union without a divorce deal. The British pound suffered its biggest one-day loss against the euro since October 2016 on Thursday, as a flurry of resignations rocked the government of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 3.08% from Thursday’s 3.11%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices rose 41 cents to $56.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices moved ahead $6.60 at $1,221.60 U.S. an ounce.
