North American stock markets are sharply lower amid a deep deterioration in job creation in both Canada and the United States.
The S&P/TSX index dropped 108.08 points to begin Friday at 12,254.97
The Canadian dollar hurtled earthward 0.90 cents at 97.85 cents U.S.
Financials took the biggest wallop soon after the open, with Scotiabank shares off 2.1% to $56.55, and Manulife off 2.9% to $13.90.
Also suffering was the industrial sector, with SNC Lavalin down 1.2% to $41.50, and Bombardier sliding 1% to $3.89.
Gold stocks, however, shone brighter, with Agnico-Eagle Mines ahead 4% to $39.64 and Barrick Gold up 1.2% to $27.70.
Statistics Canada reported the economy shed 55,000 jobs — all full time — in March. The unemployment rate also rose by 0.2% to 7.2%. Generally speaking, economists had expected about 6,500 jobs to have been created last month.
Moreover, Canada's merchandise exports decreased 0.6% in February, while imports edged up 0.1%. So, our trade deficit with the world widened from $746 million in January to $1.0 billion in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stepped forward 3.78 points to 1,030.50
All but two of 14 Toronto subgroups were down at the opening, weighed mostly by financials, down 1.6%, industrials, off 1.3%, and consumer discretionaries, sliding 1.1%.
The two gainers were gold, up 2.5%, and materials, ahead 1.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks tumbled Friday after a sorely disappointing jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials shed 139.89 points, or 1%, to 14,466.20
The S&P 500 index slipped 18.30 points to 1,541.68. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite plummeted 43.55 points to 3,181.43.
The selloff was broad based, with 29 of the 30 components of the Dow in the red. UnitedHealth was the only Dow stock up in early trading. More than 90% of the S&P 500 and and NASDAQ 100 were trading lower. Technology and financial stocks were among the biggest losers.
In company news, shares of F5 Networks plunged after the technology company announced preliminary quarterly earnings and sales that fell well short of expectations. F5 competitors Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks were also under pressure.
In South Korea, Samsung Electronics beat market expectations with strong guidance, fueled by the upcoming new model of its Galaxy smartphone, and ahead of its impending quarterly report. The new Samsung product could present more competition to iPhone maker Apple
On the economic slate, the U.S. Labor Department's monthly report showed that the economy added only 88,000 jobs in March, the lowest monthly gain since last June and far below expectations. Economists had expected a gain of 190,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate slipped to 7.6%, but that was also bad news because nearly 500,000 people dropped out of the labour market.
The labour force participation rate, which measures how many people are employed or looking for jobs, fell to 63.3% -- its lowest level since May 1979.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 1.69% from Thursday’s 1.77%. Treasury prices yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 92 cents to $92.32 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $13.50 to $1,567.30 U.S. an ounce.
