The Toronto stock market stumbled at the finish Friday while oil and gold prices fell back amid uncertainty over a Syrian military intervention.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 50.83 to finish Friday at 12,653.90
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.01 cents at 94.92 cents U.S.
The base metals sector climbed while December copper stepped back three cents to $3.23 U.S. a pound. First Quantum Minerals climbed 59 cents to $17.49.
Consumer staples ran up almost one per cent with support from convenience store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. Shares ran up $3.38, or 5.9%, to $60.74 as it increased its quarterly dividend by 1.25 cents to 8.75 cents per share as it reported a first-quarter profit of $255 million or $1.35 per share. That was up from a profit of $102.9 million or 57 cents per share a year ago.
Financials were also higher at the end of a generally positive week for bank earnings. All the major Canadian banks reported this past week and combined profits slipped to $7.63 billion in the third quarter, even though most of them reported stronger results for the period. Manulife Financial gained 10 cents to $17.27.
Elsewhere in the sector, Laurentian Bank reported third-quarter net income fell 6% to $28.3 million, or 91 cents per share. Revenue grew 14% to $221 million from $193.8 million and its shares slipped 63 cents to $44.33.
Easing concerns about international intervention in Syria pushed gold prices lower after spiking earlier in the week, sending the gold sector down, as Barrick Gold Corp. faded 58 cents to $20.11.
The energy sector was down while Suncor Energy shed 60 cents to $35.50.
In other corporate news, Bombardier Aerospace said Friday it has received a flight test permit from Transport Canada for the first CSeries aircraft, clearing the way for the new jet's first flight. Its shares gained six cents to $4.79.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada revealed this morning that Gross Domestic Product dipped 0.5% in June, while growing 0.4% on a quarterly basis, after a 0.5% hike in the first quarter.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 2.13 points Friday to 939.31
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day, weighed mostly by gold, off 1.2%, telecoms, sliding 0.9%, and materials, off 0.8%.
The four gainers were led by consumer staples, up 1.1%, utilities, ahead 0.5%, and health-care, squeaking by 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors said goodbye to a brutal August, the cruelest month for stocks during an otherwise sunny 2013.
The Dow Jones Industrials retreated 30.64 points to close the day, week and month at 14,810.30
The S&P 500 index dropped 5.20 points to 1,632.97. The NASDAQ gave back 30.43 points to 3,589.87
The Dow and the S&P 500 lost between 3% and 4.5% this month. But they are still up between 13% and 15% for the year.
The NASDAQ held up better in August, dropping only 1%. The tech-heavy index has gained nearly 19% year-to-date.
Salesforce.com shares shot up after the cloud-based software company reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and earnings Thursday afternoon.
Krispy Kreme shares dove 15% after the doughnut maker missed earnings estimates and lowered its full-year guidance Thursday.
Still the stock has more than doubled in 2013. Some traders on StockTwits remain optimistic about Krispy Kreme.
Shares of energy producer Apache soared after it announced it was selling a 33% stake of its oil and gas holdings in Egypt to China's Sinopec for $3.1 billion U.S.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained back lost ground, lowering yields back to Thursday’s 2.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $1.17 to $107.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $17.90 to $1,395 U.S. an ounce.
