TSX stocks clawed back from a triple digit loss this afternoon to close moderately lower -- the S&P/TSX composite index shed 37.26 points to 8,294.09 -- as recession fears once again gripped investors.
Stocks in Canada followed the lead of plunging markets worldwide, with Japan's Nikkei index ending down 9.6 percent. European markets down almost as sharply, with major indexes down 8 percent in France and Germany and 7 percent in London.
Markets were down 14 percent in Moscow when the exchange there suspended trading until Tuesday.
In corporate news -- shares of contract electronics maker Celestica Inc surged almost 14 percent on Friday in wake of the company's surprisingly strong earnings report, but analysts continued to question its long-term prospects in the face of a global economic slowdown.
Noveko International Inc. said Friday it lost $7.6 million in its fourth quarter due to sharply higher costs. The company said the loss amounted to 13 cents per share for the three months ended June 30 compared with a loss of $2.3 million or five cents per share a year ago. Revenue in the quarter totalled $4.3 million, up from $3 million.
On the data front in Canada -- Canada's annual inflation rate began to descend from a five-year high in September, as prices fell for cars, clothing and computers, Statistics Canada said on Friday. The consumer price index was 3.4 percent higher in September from a year earlier, in line with forecasts and down from a rate of 3.5 percent in the previous month. On a monthly basis, CPI advanced 0.1 percent.
Down south -- boosted by foreclosures and plunging prices, sales of pre-owned homes and condos rose sharply in September to the highest level in 13 months, an industry trade group reported Friday. Existing-home sales rose 5.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million, the National Association of Realtors estimated Friday. Economists surveyed expected sales to rise to a 5 million pace.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, was trading down 1.61 cents to 78.57 cents US.
BAYSTREET
Four of the TSX sub-groups traded higher today -- gold issues were ahead 8.00 percent followed by a 0.86 percent gain in tech stocks and a 0.43 percent rise in mining issues.
On the downside -- real-estate issues fell 2.58 percent; financial stocks dipped 2.45 percent and consumer discretionary issues shed 1.02 percent.
COMEX gold for December delivery rallied $15.60 to settle at $730.30 US an ounce.
Meanwhile, the TSX Venture Exchange was down 27.04 points to 830.96 while NASDAQ Canada stocks were off 13.11 points at 549.37.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks on Wall Street eased off their worst lows of the day but still ended Friday with substantial losses, as forced liquidations continued and fear of a global economic slowdown intensified.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, off more than 500 points earlier, ended down 215.05 points, or 2.5 percent, at 8476.20. The S&P 500 gave back 22.88 points, or 2.5 percent, at 885.23, and the Nasdaq tumbled 38.42 points, or 2.4 percent, to 1565.49.
In the financial sector -- PNC Financial Services Group said it would pay about $5.5 billion for troubled regional bank National City Corp. to create what would be the fifth-largest bank when ranked by deposits.
After the close Thursday, Microsoft reported quarterly sales and earnings that topped forecasts. But the software leader also warned that sales and earnings for the fiscal second quarter and the full year won't meet forecasts due to the slowing economy. Shares fell 3.5 percent.
Treasury prices turned lower, erasing morning gains. The decline boosted the yield on the 10-year note to 3.69 percent from 3.64 percent Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. At one point, the yield on the 30-year bond sank to the lowest point in its 31-year trading history, to as low as 3.87 percent.
The Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries, which controls 40 percent of the world's oil supply, announced Friday that it would cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day, from its current level of 29 million.
OPEC had intended to raise prices by reducing production. But after the announcement, oil prices dropped $3.69 to close at $64.15 a barrel US in electronic trading.
