Stocks in Toronto petered out by Friday’s close, fattening a weekly decline after being roiled by renewed uncertainties in Greece and Spain.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up in the red Friday 50.04 points, to head into a long weekend at 11,280.64
The Canadian dollar slid back 0.17 to 97.95 cents U.S.
Markets across Canada will be shuttered Monday for Victoria Day
The pessimistic mood on markets lately has sent the TSX tumbling about 1,000 points or more than 8% to its lowest level since last October.
Notable traders included Goldcorp Inc., shares of which faded to 0.01% to $35.45, while Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd., gained 0.9% to $36.94, and Yamana Gold Inc., tacked on 0.9% to $13.92.
In the energy sector, Canadian Natural Resources added 0.4% to $29.88, while Imperial Oil doffed 0.2% to $40.93, and Suncor faded 0.7% to $27.34.
Other stocks on the losing end in Toronto were Research In Motion Ltd., which shed 3.6% to $11.19, and Teck Resources Ltd., which lost 2.2% to $29.39. Bank of Nova Scotia demurred 1.4% to $51.00, and Manulife Financial Corp. was lower by 1.6% to $10.98.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that the nation’s inflation rate edged up one 10th of a point to 2% in April as the cost of most things rose, but moderately.
The big surprise was that energy costs, for the first time since October 2009, rose at lower rate than the overall index with a tiny 1.1% increase from last year.
The agency says prices rose year-over-year in all eight of the major groups it tracks, led by transportation, which increase by 3.4%, and food, which cost 2.5% more.
On a monthly tracking, consumer prices rose 0.4% in April from March as the cost of gasoline increased by 3.2%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nipped back 0.19 points to 1,227.88, while the Nasdaq Canada decreased 5.38 points to 355.84.
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups came out on the short end, weighed by health-care issues, off 2.1%, information technology, down 1.9%, and global base metals, sliding 1.3%.
Only gold held out against the tide, gaining 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. investors resumed focus on the global issues plaguing world markets Friday, following a brief euphoric pop from Facebook's debut.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 73.11 points to close out the week at 12,369.40
The S&P 500 faltered 10.34 points to 1,294.52. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index erased 34.90 to 2,778.79.
Facebook, which priced its initial public offering at $38 U.S. a share after the closing bell Thursday, jumped 11% when it started trading mid-morning Friday. But by the afternoon, it had leveled off at about $41 U.S.
Shares of Yahoo rose early Friday following a report that the Internet portal may have reached a deal with Alibaba that would put an end to a contentious relationship.
Other social media stocks fell, including Groupon, LinkedIn and Zynga, which saw its shares plunge more than 10%. Trading of Zynga's stock was halted two separate times.
Apparel retailer Foot Locker reported better-than-expected earnings.
Shares of Salesforce.com rose sharply after company reported better-than-expected earnings late Thursday.
Shares of Chinese solar energy producers Yingli Green Energy, Trina Solar and Suntech Power declined early Friday, a day after the U.S. government announced new tariffs on Chinese solar panels. Shares of U.S. panel makers First Solar and SunPower also fell on Friday.
But the European debt crisis is still looming over world markets. Asian stocks sold off sharply and European markets remained under pressure. At the same time, borrowing costs for Spanish and Greek debt also remain high.
Concerns are mounting about a potential Greek exit from the euro, and the implications that could have for other fiscally troubled nations such as Spain and Italy. Rating agency Moody's downgraded 16 Spanish banks Thursday, including giants Banco Santander and BBVA, the latest sign of distress in Europe.
Greece, currently operating with a caretaker government, could leave the euro-zone if anti-austerity parties triumph in elections next month.
A growing number of depositors are withdrawing their money from Greek banks amid worries that their savings could be converted to a devalued currency if Greece drops the euro. The rapid withdrawals are putting further strain on the country's struggling financial sector.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained in the afternoon, pushing the yield back down to Thursday’s 1.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil fell continued to struggle, giving back $1.36 to $91.20 U.S.
Gold futures for June delivery rose $16.80 to $1,591.70 U.S. an ounce.
