Equities throughout North America were all under the same negative cloud Friday, with employment numbers working their way into the picture and inflation remaining a prime concern.
The TSX thundered lower 311.8 points, or 1.6%, to conclude Friday at 19,774.92. The loss on the week was 806 points, or more than 3.9%.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.04 cents to 72.36 cents U.S.
Health-care proved the biggest anchor round the necks of investors, with Tilray sagging 19 cents, or 5.4%, to $3.32, while Canopy Growth lost 11 cents, or 3.7%, to $2.83.
In techs, Enghouse Systems was positively hammered, $10.65, or 24.5%, to $32.88, while Payfare Inc. lost 32 cents, or 5.3%, to close at $5.75.
Financials also took their lumps, with Onex Corp. dropping $3.81, or 5.1%, to $70.34, while Brookfield Corporation let go of $2.17, or 5%, to $41.47.
Gold stuck its head out as the only positive subgroup, with Iamgold peeking up seven cents, or 2.4%, to $2.94, while Kinross Gold grabbed 11 cents, or 2.3%, to $4.84.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada says employment held steady in February at 22,000, a gain of a slight 0.1%, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 5.7 points on the day to 612.04, for a loss on the week of 31 points, or 4.8%.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups remained negative by the closing bell, weighed most by health-care, subsiding 3%, information technology, giving up 2.7%, and financials, down 2.3%.
Only gold proved positive, up 1.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks tumbled on Friday as tech-focused lender Silicon Valley Bank was shut down after losses in its bond portfolio, the biggest bank failure since the global financial crisis that sent shockwaves through the banking sector.
The Dow Jones Industrials finished lower 344.9 points, or 1.1%, at 31,909.96, sustaining a fourth day of losses.
The S&P 500 faltered 56.59 points, or 1.4%, to 3,861.73.
The NASDAQ Composite descended 199.47 points, or 1.8%, to 11,138.89.
Regulators took control of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday, after shares tumbled Thursday and the bank struggled on Friday to find another lender to buy it. Regional bank stocks tumbled in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s demise, with the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF last down more than 6%. For the week, the regional bank fund lost 16%, its worst week since March 2020 as the pandemic hit.
Several bank stocks were repeatedly halted on Friday, including First Republic, PacWest and crypto-focused Signature bank. Shares last traded down between 21% and 33%. Some bellwether bank stocks suffered smaller losses even as SVB’s fallout wreaked havoc on regional names. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America were last down 3.5% and 1%, respectively. JPMorgan held onto a 2 % gain.
Wall Street is coming off a sharp downturn, with the Dow losing more than 500 points Thursday. For the week, the Dow is down 3.4%, on pace for its worst week since September 2022, while the S&P 500 is off 3.2%
Traders also digested the February jobs report, which gave some hints that inflation could be slowing. Payrolls increased 311,000 jobs last month, more than expected, but investors focused on the smaller-than-expected gain in wages, which could cause the Federal Reserve to rethink more aggressive on rate hikes.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury rose sharply, lowering yields 3.69% from Thursday’s 3.92%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite
directions.
Oil prices acquired 69 cents to $76.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $36.50 to $1,871.10 U.S. an ounce.
