The Toronto stock exchange was trading lower Friday, led by weakness in financial and energy stocks, as the uncertainty about U.S. budget discussions weighed on investors.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 63.73 points at 12,310.04.
The economic calendar in the U.S. on Friday includes Chicago-area business conditions (PMI report) and pending home sales.
Pending home sales climbed 1.7% to an index reading of 106.4 after a revised 5% jump in October, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The loonie, meanwhile was down 0.06 of a cent to a one-month low of 100.45 cents US.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 0.06 points to 1,196.69.
Eleven of the Toronto subgroups were trading in the red. Mining issues were off 0.60%, industrial stocks fell 0.43% and financials slid 0.37%.
On the upside -- health-care issues rose 0.62% while both consumer discretionary and tech stocks were unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were down Friday, with Wall Street extending losses into a fifth session on worries that talks between the White House and congressional leaders may not lead to a break in the budget impasse.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 84.51 points, or 0.6%, to 13,011.80.
The S&P 500 index shed 9.84 points, or 0.7%, to 1,408.26.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 16.72 points, or 0.6%, to 2,969.19.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) fell after the company announced that the Department of Justice is investigating possible accounting fraud at Autonomy. After acquiring Autonomy for $11 billion last year, HP took an $8.8 billion write-down related to the acquisition this year.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note moved up slightly to 1.71%. Oil prices were modestly higher.
