Toronto's main stock index took its lumps on Friday, as investors took profits from previous highs this week.
The S&P/TSX composite index shed 39.53 points to open Friday at 12,560.21
The Canadian dollar squeezed up 0.02 cents to 101.68 cents U.S.
Leucadia National Corporation, the largest shareholder in takeover target of Inmet Mining, said late on Thursday it planned to tender its shares to bidder First Quantum, in a boost for the Canadian-listed group.
The First Quantum offer will be open until Feb. 14, unless extended or withdrawn. Inmet shares dropped 22 cents to $71.70, while First Quantum shares docked two cents to $21.03
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada said its international merchandise trade index hiked 2.7% November, with exports fading 0.9%. As a result, Canada's trade deficit with the world widened from $552 million in October to $2.0 billion in November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shaved off 0.35 points to 1,239.73
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks slipped Friday, a day after the S&P 500 closed at a five-year high, as investors digested earnings from Wells Fargo and a fresh batch of economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 22.05 points to 13,449.20
The S&P 500 slid 4.18 points to 1,467.94. The Nasdaq Composite let go of 6.36 points to 3,115.40
Wells Fargo, the first major bank to report quarterly results, posted a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street's expectations and sales that were roughly in-line with forecasts. The results showed signs the mortgage refinance boom, which has been fueling bank profits, may be coming to an end as interest rates begin to rise. Wells Fargo's stock declined almost 2%.
Shares of Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which are all on tap to report next week, also lost ground. The financial sector is expected to be the standout performer in an otherwise lackluster quarter for earnings growth.
S&P 500 companies are expected to report overall earnings growth of 2.4% for the last three months of 2012, improving from a 1% decline in the third quarter, according to FactSet Research. But excluding the financial sector, earnings growth for S&P 500 companies is expected to be just 0.2%.
On the economic front, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that export prices fell 0.1% in December. The Census Bureau said the U.S. trade deficit widened much more sharply than expected -- 16% -- due to a rise in consumer goods brought in from overseas.
The wider-than-expected deficit could signal a sharp slowdown in U.S. economic growth for the fourth quarter from the 3.1% uptick in the third quarter, according to at least one expert. The first estimate for fourth-quarter GDP is due later this month.
Meanwhile, there was also more bad news for Boeing as All Nippon Airways reported an oil leak was discovered from the generator in the left engine of a 787 Dreamliner, adding to the recent troubles for that key aircraft. Boeing shares slid more than 2%, making the aircraft maker's stock the biggest loser on the Dow.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note dropped, raising yields to 1.91% from Thursday’s 1.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices flopped 86 cents to $92.96 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $18.50 an ounce to $1,659.50 U.S.
