The Toronto stock market was in the red by Friday noon ET, with investors opting for safety ahead of weekend developments that could set the tone for trading next week.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 46.36 points – off its lows of the day -- to greet noon Friday at 11,545.76
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.44 of a cent to 96.85 cents U.S.
The TSX energy sector lost ground as Suncor Energy lost 32 cents to $29.
The base metals group fell sharply as July copper contract declined nine cents to $3.28 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources dropped 47 cents to $32.08.
The financial sector also weighed, down one per cent while TD Bank shed $1.07 to $78.01.
The gold sector was ahead as Barrick Gold Corp was ahead 36 cents to $40.15.
China has rolled out a series of measures to stimulate the economy after growth fell to a nearly three-year low of 8.1% in the first quarter and April factory output grew at its slowest rate since the 2008 crisis.
Private sector analysts expect this quarter’s growth to fall further as the Chinese government worked to bring inflation down from unacceptable levels. On Thursday, the Chinese central bank announced it was cutting a key rate by 0.25 of a point to help boost growth.
On the domestic economic ledger, Statistics Canada reported the economy cranked out about 7,700 jobs during May, better than the 5,000 that economists expected. The unemployment rate remained at 7.3%.
Elsewhere, Canada's merchandise exports declined 1.2% in April, while imports edged up 0.1%. Thus this country posted a trade deficit of $367 million in April – its first in six months -- down from a surplus of $152 million in March.
What’s more, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported this morning that housing starts slowed in May to 211,400 units, compared with 243,800 units in April. The April figure was revised down from 244,900 units reported previously.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 7.19 points to 1,288.89. The Nasdaq Canada index went lower 0.93 points to 368.48
In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups were negative by lunch hour, weighed mostly by the global base metals group, down 1.5%, metals and mining, down 1.4%, and energy, 1.1% less robust.
The four gainers were led by gold, ahead 0.9%, materials, gaining 0.4%, and real-estate, inching up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks recovered Friday from a rough start and turned higher, attempting to put a cap on one of the strongest weeks of 2012.
The Dow Jones Industrials broke for lunch in the green by 19.11 points to 12,480.07
The S&P 500 was 1.89 points higher to 1,316.88. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index had recovered 9.93 points by midday to 2,840.95
Heading into Friday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 2.9%, on track for the best week of the year. The S&P 500 index was up 2.8%, also on track for the best week of the year. The Nasdaq composite was 3% higher, on track for the best week since January.
Investors shook off early disappointment that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did not signal that more stimulus was on the horizon.
Shares of International Game Technology edged up 0.7%. The gaming firm announced late Thursday that it had received a recommendation for an online gaming license from the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Shares of Molina Healthcare jumped 22% after the company announced late Thursday that Ohio had endorsed its bid to continue as a health care provider for the state's Medicaid beneficiaries.
Economically speaking, the U.S. trade deficit for April came in at $50.1 billion U.S, roughly in line with forecasts of analysts by Briefing.com, and down from the revised $52.6 billion U.S. in March.
Wholesale inventories for April rose by 0.6%, after increasing by 0.3% in the month prior.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rallied sharply, lowering yields to 1.60% from Thursday’s 1.65%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil shed another $1.90 to $82.92 U.S.
Gold futures for June delivery rose $1.50 to $1,589.50 U.S. an ounce, reversing earlier losses.
