The Toronto stock market failed to find lift from solid jobs data from Canada and the U.S. that blew past expectations.
The S&P/TSX composite index began Friday down 0.93 points to 12,825.59
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.32 cents at 97.48 cents U.S.
Gold stocks took a pounding at the outset, the worst taken by Asanko Gold, down 4.3% to $3.34. Material stocks also suffered in the session’s first hour, with Nevsun Resources plunging 3% to $3.92.
Consumer staples made some inroads, Alimentation Couche-Tard gaining 2.1% to $1.15.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada told us this morning that employment rose by 51,000 in February, following a slight decline the previous month. This increase was spread between full- and part-time work. The unemployment rate remained at 7.0% as more people participated in the labour force.
Elsewhere, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said on Friday in a report that showed the housing market is continuing to moderate.
CMHC said the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts was 180,719 units in February, up from 158,998 in January. The January figure was revised down from the 160,577 units reported previously.
The number of starts in February was slightly above the 175,000 starts expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sidled back 1.71 points to 1,114.52
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower soon after the opening bell, with gold stocks sliding 1.6%, materials down 0.8%, and information technology sinking 0.5%.
The four gainers were led in tandem the metals and mining and consumer staples groups, each up 0.3%, while utilities eked up 0.2%.
Consumer discretionaries were unchanged in the day’s first hour.
ON WALLSTREET
An unexpectedly robust jobs report pushed the Dow to a new record high Friday, and set all three indexes on track for their best week of the year.
The Dow added 20.66 points to begin Friday at 14,350.20, adding to Thursday’s all-time record close.
The S&P 500 index eked up 2.77 points to 1,547.03, as both the blue chip and broader S&P have gained for five straight days. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite edged higher 0.05 points to 3,232.14.
Online music streaming firm Pandora Media reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and announced that its CEO will be stepping down. Pandora's shares soared.
Athletic shoe retailer Foot Locker reported a significant increase in sales and profit for the fourth quarter. But its stock dipped 4%.
Citigroup's shares gained more than 2%, following news that the bank passed the Fed's stress test to gauge if it could weather another recession. Morgan Stanley JPMorgan and Goldman SachsGroup also passed the tests.
Herbalife shares moved higher after activist investor Carl Icahn increased his stake in the nutritional supplement company.
Economically speaking, ahead of the opening bell, the U.S. government reported that 236,000 jobs were added to the economy in February, and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7% from 7.9%.
That was much better than the 170,000 and 7.8% expected by economists.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury swooned, hiking yields to 2.05% from Thursday’s 1.99%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 18 cents to $91.39 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $10.50 to $1,564.60 U.S. an ounce.
