Equities in Canada’s largest market opened flat on Friday, the last day of a quarter that has been plagued with worries around economic growth and hawkish central bank policy actions.
The TSX Composite fell 8.93 points to begin Friday to 18,432.91.
The Canadian dollar lost its grip on 0.28 cents to 72.84 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 0.58 points to 582.01.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split, with information technology increasing 1.1%, while retail and financials each climbed 0.8%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by energy, down 1.1%, consumer discretionary, sliding 0.7%, and consumer staples, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Friday as traders looked to close out a terrible week that brought the S&P 500 to a new 2022 low.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 84.14 points to kick off Friday at 29,141.47.
The S&P 500 dipped 2.22 points to 3,638.25,
The NASDAQ Composite poked ahead 26.61 points, or 2.8%, to 10.764.12.
An inflation report closely watched by the Federal Reserve released Friday showed that prices continued to increase at a rapid pace.
Nike shares fell sharply in its worst day since 2001 after the company reported that sales increased, but supply chain and inventory issues hampered the bottom line in its fiscal first quarter. The stock was last down 13%.
Those losses put the major averages on pace for sharp weekly losses. The S&P 500 is off 1.5% for the week. The Dow is down 1.5% and the NASDAQ is 1% lower.
Friday also marked the last day of the month and the third quarter. For September, the S&P 500 and Dow are down more than 7% each through Thursday’s close.
That would be the worst monthly performance for the Dow since March 2020 and the biggest one-month decline for the S&P 500 since June. The NASDAQ is headed for its biggest monthly loss since April, losing 9.1%.
Quarter to date, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ are headed for their first three-quarter losing streak since 2009, the S&P losing 4% and NASDAQ down 2.7%. The Dow is down 5.4% in the third quarter and is on pace to post a third-straight losing quarter for the first time since 2015.
Treasury prices moved forward, lowering yields to 3.72% from Thursday’s 3.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite direction.
Oil prices lost 68 cents to $80.55 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $11.50 to $1,680.10 U.S. an ounce.
