The Toronto stock market drifted slightly lower Friday afternoon amid nervousness about possible military intervention in the Syrian civil war and speculation about what the Federal Reserve might do about a key stimulus program in the wake of the latest employment data.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed Friday down 24.14 points to 12,820.92
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.88 cents to 96.07 cents U.S.
Tech stocks led declines with BlackBerry down 33 cents to $11.27 after three days of strong gains, partly fueled by reports that the smartphone maker wants to launch an auction process for its assets sooner rather than later.
Telecoms continued to shed gains racked up earlier in the week after U.S. telco giant Verizon said earlier in the week it wouldn't be entering the Canadian wireless market. Telus shed 92 cents to $33.33.
Commodity prices were higher and December copper rose two cents to $3.26 U.S. a pound. The base metals group rose and Teck Resources advanced 22 cents to $27.85.
The gold sector rose as Iamgold improved by five cents to $6.19, while Barrick Gold sagged 10 cents to $19.85.
The energy sector was up as Suncor Energy gained 39 cents to $36.65.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that the economy added 59,000 jobs during August, mainly part-time, pushing the unemployment rate down a 10th of a percentage point to 7.1%.
Over the six months leading up to August, however, employment gains averaged 12,000 per month, lower than the average of 29,000 observed during the preceding six-month period.
Moreover, Western University’s Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) in August stood at 51.0. The corresponding Ivey PMI figure for July 2013 was 48.4, for August 2012, it was 62.5 and for August 2011, it was 56.4.
The survey aims to answer whether manufacturers purchases last month in dollars were higher, the same, or lower than the previous month. A figure above 50 shows an increase while below 50 shows a decrease.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange improved 7.14 points to 954.92
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day, weighed mostly by information technology issues, down 1.3%, while telecoms surrendered 1.1% and real-estate slid 0.8%.
The four gainers were spearheaded by metals and mining stocks, up 1%, while gold gained 0.7% and materials were better by 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
After initially pushing stocks higher on the prospect that the U.S. Federal Reserve might delay its plans to taper in September, investors quickly shifted their attention to the G-20 meeting in St. Petersburg. Russian President Vladimir Putin spooked the markets with comments about his support for Syria.
The Dow Jones Industrials dipped 14.98 points to 14,922.50. The S&P 500 index gained 0.35 points to 1,655.43. The NASDAQ gained 1.23 points to 3,660.01
The three indices all tumbled after Putin told reporters that Russia would continue arms sales and provide aid to Syria if the nation were attacked. But by late morning, all three indexes erased those losses and stocks were trading fairly flat in the afternoon.
Smith & Wesson shares tumbled after the gun maker reported a disappointing outlook for the current quarter.
Facebook shares rose nearly 4%. The social network's stock hit a new 52-week high of $44.56 and is inching closer to its all-time high of $45 U.S.
Social networks LinkedIn and Yelp were also moving sharply higher.
Smithfield Foods shares edged lower after the meat processor posted a drop in earnings due to weak exports to Japan, China and Russia. The company announced an agreement earlier this year to be acquired by China's Shuanghui International, a deal now awaiting approval from the U.S. government.
Putin met with President Obama earlier Friday. The Russian president called their meeting "constructive," but added that "he doesn't agree with me, I don't agree with him."
Putin's comments come as Obama seeks international and domestic backing for military action against Syria in response to the Syrian's government's alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people last month.
Economically, the U.S. economy added 169,000 jobs last month, fewer than the 185,000 economists surveyed were forecasting. The unemployment rate ticked lower to 7.3%, as expected, but the drop was due to a falling labour force participation rate. Job gains for both June and July were also revised lower.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 2.94% from Thursday’s 2.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired $1.99 to $110.36 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were $15.40 stronger, at $1,387.40 U.S. an ounce.
