The Toronto stock market lost some steam as the noon hour drew near Friday, as commodities took a beating, notably in the base metals section.
The S&P/TSX composite index approached Friday noon down 53.34 points to 12,180.61
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.15 cents to 102.03 cents U.S.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that Canada wants a growing relationship with China, but that investments must be scrutinized from a national security perspective.
Canadian Pacific Railway shares took on a dime to $86.51, after reporting that its CFO Kathryn McQuade will retire on Nov. 1, the fourth senior executive to leave Canada's second-largest railroad, after an intense proxy battle earlier this year.
Among other stocks to watch this morning, Pilot Gold said it plans to sell 15.5 million stock-warrant units at $1.65 each to raise $25.6 million. Pilot shares shed 19 cents, or 10.5%, to $1.62.
Aeterna Zentaris said its offer of 6.6 million stock-warrant units priced at $2.50 a unit, a 20% discount to Thursday's close on Nasdaq. Aeterna shares plummeted 72 cents, or 23.5%, to $2.34.
OceanaGold said it has signed an offtake agreement with commodities trading company Trafigura for the sale and purchase of copper concentrate from the Didipio Project in the Philippines. Oceana shares climbed six cents to $3.41.
Information technology proved one of the few bright spots on an otherwise darkening morning, as MacDonald Dettwiler sprinted 1.2% higher to $50.50.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 9.91 points to 1,290.03
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups went south by midday. Materials slid 0.9%, while global base metals and gold tailed off 0.6% each.
The two stalwarts were in information technology, up 0.1%, and real-estate, eking out a gain of 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were decidedly mixed Friday, even as investors appeared to shrug off a strong reading on consumer sentiment and sifted through mixed corporate results.
The Dow Jones Industrial average remained positive, but by only 0.40 points, to 13,326.80
The S&P 500 faded 5.35 points to 1,427.29, while the tech-rich Nasdaq docked 2.33 points to 3,047.08.
Bank stocks were under pressure after Wells Fargo said sales fell short of expectations in the third quarter, even as profits met analysts' forecasts. JPMorgan shares eased after the bank reported record quarterly profits.
Bank of America, which reports quarterly results next week, was the worst performer on the Dow.
Investors also focused on shares of companies in the semiconductor space after AMD cut its revenue forecast for the third quarter. Despite a dim outlook for PC-sales, Hewlett-Packard shares led the Dow higher.
Realogy -- the parent of real estate brokers Century 21, ERA and Coldwell Banker -- began trading on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday under the ticker RLGY.
The company priced its Initial Public Offering at the top end of its estimated range, and shares of Realogy rising 27% from their offering price.
Shares of Shutterstock jumped more than 27% in their market debut Thursday. The online stock photography company also priced its shares above the expected range in its IPO.
Economically speaking, a report by the U.S. Labor Department showed producer prices rose 1.1% in September, more than anticipated. Government officials chalked much of that up to spikes in food and energy prices, noting that excluding those increases, the prices of finished goods remained unchanged from the previous month.
The University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sentiment index for October rose to 83.1, the highest level in five years. It was expected to come in at 78.5.
The price of the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury pushed ahead, weighing the yield down to 1.64% from 1.68% late Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped 31 cents to $91.75 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $7.10 to $1,763.60 U.S. an ounce.
