Equities in Canada’s largest centre tumbled by Friday’s closing bell, the final one for July, on weakness in energy, created by uncertainty over increased cases of the coronavirus.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index moved downward 130.09 points to conclude the week at 16,169.20, decidedly off its lows of the morning, and resulting in a weekly gain for the index of 172 points, or 1.08%.
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.005 cents to 74.60 cents U.S.
Markets in Canada will be shuttered Monday for holiday.
Imperial Oil stood out as the biggest loser among petroleum concerns, doffing $1.14, or 5.2%, to $20.87, while Husky Energy lost 18 cents, or 4%, to $4.31.
In health-care, Aurora Cannabis stumbled 53 cents, or 3.8%, to $13.62, while Bausch Health Companies surrendered 96 cents, or 3.8%, to $24.42.
Financials were also the poorer Friday, as Equitable Group ditched $4.27, or 5.2%, to $77.24, while Brookfield Asset Management were $1.85, or 4.1%, to the bad, at $43.25.
Gold and other resources did their best to make it respectable, with Kirkland Lake Gold sprinting $4.87, or 7.1%, to $73.21, while Kinross Gold added 84 cents, or 7.2%, to $12.54.
Dundee Precious Metals zoomed $1.06, or 11.7%, to $10.10, while Pan American Silver accumulated $2.24, or 4.7%, to $50.02.
Among utilities, Brookfield Renewable traveled $3.34, or 6.1%, to $57.71, while Innergex Renewable Energy acquired 47 cents, or 2.1%, to $22.98.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reports gross domestic product figures grew 4.5% in May, following two months of unprecedented declines, as 17 of 20 industrial sectors increased.
Moreover, building permits for June hiked 6.2% to $8.1 billion in June, to a level comparable to pre-COVID levels. Overall, seven provinces reported gains for the month.
The agency’s industrial product price index rose 0.4% in June, driven mainly by higher prices for energy and petroleum products, while its raw materials price index increased 7.5% last month, primarily as a result of higher prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange took its vitamins and piled on 15.5 points, or 2%, to finish the week at 721.24, for a weekly hike of 29.8 points, or 4.31%.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the red to close Friday, energy tailing off 2.2%, health-care ailing 1.9%, and financials losing 1.8%.
The three gainers were gold, up 2.7%, while materials improved 1.8%, and utilities nosed ahead 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks wiped out earlier losses and closed higher on Friday as the biggest tech companies and market leaders — Amazon, Apple and Facebook — soared after posting stellar quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrials worked their way up from the red and gained 114.67 points to close the day, week and month at 26,428.32. The Dow moved lower on the week, however, by more than 41 points, or 0.16%.
The S&P 500 gained 24.9 points to 3,271.12, on the day. The much-broader index gained 55 points, or 1.7%, on the week.
The NASDAQ rocketed 157.46 points, or 1.5%, to 10,745.28, for a five-session hike of 382 points, or 3.69%.
The major equity averages also wrapped up the month of July with solid gains and posted their fourth straight positive month. The S&P 500 gained 5.5% in July, while the Dow increased 2.3%, and the NASDAQ rose 6.8%.
A few negative headlines weighed on the broader market despite the blowout numbers from major tech companies.
Emergency unemployment benefits are set to expire Friday and Congress and the White House still seem far apart on an agreement.
Dow-component Chevron fell 2.7% after the oil giant reported an $8.3-billion loss in the second quarter as the pandemic “significantly reduced demand.”
Stocks linked to an economic recovery like banks and retailers were lower as investors assessed the biggest quarterly gross domestic product contraction on record and persistently weak job growth. JPMorgan and Home Depot were both in the red.
Consumer sentiment deteriorated this month amid resurgence in new coronavirus cases. University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index came in at 72.5 for July, down from June’s 78.1 and below Dow Jones estimates of 72.7.
Apple reported a blowout quarter, sending shares up 10.4%. The company said its overall sales expanded by 11%, and Apple also announced a four-for-one stock split.
Amazon, meanwhile, traded 3.7% higher as the company saw its sales skyrocket during the coronavirus pandemic. Facebook shares rallied more than 7% as the social media giant posted revenue growth of 11% even amid the coronavirus pandemic slowdown. The company also issued stronger-than-expected sales guidance for the current quarter.
Google-parent Alphabet also posted better-than-expected earnings, but the company’s overall revenue declined for the first time in its history. Revenue for Google Cloud was also just below analyst expectations. Alphabet shares fell 3% Friday.
Collectively the four stocks were set to add about $200 billion to their total market cap, bringing it to more than $5 trillion combined.
Big Tech has been the stalwart on Wall Street this year. Amazon has climbed 71% and Apple is up 44% in 2020. Facebook and Alphabet have risen double digits over that time period.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained, lowering yields back to Thursday’s 0.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 50 cents to $40.42 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices revived $24.50 to $1,991.30 U.S. an ounce.
