Markets in Toronto were little changed on Friday as talks continued in Washington to end a fiscal stalemate that has shut down the U.S. government for days. Employment figures in Canada proved deceptive as well.
The S&P/TSX composite index eked up 4.98 points at the start of business Friday, to 12,899.39
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.05 cents to 96.23 cents U.S.
Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc was expected to be active after the world's biggest fertilizer producer estimated quarterly profit would be below analysts' expectations as its customers delayed purchases due to near-term market uncertainty. Potash shares declined 46 cents to $32.51.
Activist hedge fund Jana Partners LLC trimmed its holding in Agrium Inc. and said it was pleased with the fertilizer company's recent capital return and change in CEO. Agrium shares dipped 44 cents to $85.45.
The U.S. government shutdown is making it harder for the State Department to review TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL pipeline permit process, which could delay President Barack Obama's decision on the project. TransCanada shares hiked 31 cents to $45.09.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada announced the job picture was little changed in September, with the jobless rate lowering two-10ths of a percentage point to 6.9%. Job creation slowed to 11,900 in September from 59,200 in August as 21,400 workers aged 15 to 24 left the labour force. Market call was for a hike of 10,000 jobs, and an unemployment rate of 7.1%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 4.76 to 930.76
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers. Financials were up 0.5%, while energy and utilities advanced 0.3% each.
The seven laggards were weighed by gold, down 2.1%, materials, down 1.6%, and metals and mining, off 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
After one of the biggest rallies of the year, stocks were up slightly early Friday as investors wait for further progress in Washington on resolving the debt ceiling standoff.
The Dow gained 34.87 points, to begin the last day of a turbulent week at 15,160.90
The S&P 500 index took on 3.32 points to 1,695.88. The NASDAQ was up 6.37 points to 3,767.12
The gains came a day a surge of optimism that sent the Dow up more than 320 points, its biggest point gain since December 2011. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ delivered their second best advances of the year.
On Thursday, House Republicans met with President Obama and offered a proposal to raise the debt ceiling temporarily, while the government would remain partially shut down. The meeting ended with no deal, but it was still seen as a sign of significant progress following weeks of gridlock.
Meetings are expected to continue Friday.
In addition to the debt ceiling talks, the first of the big banks started reporting quarterly results.
JPMorgan posted a quarterly loss due to costs of legal actions from the government. It was the company's first since Jamie Dimon took over as CEO in 2004.
But the bank still managed to top forecasts, excluding charges. The stock rose in early trading.
Wells Fargo reported significant increases in quarterly sales and profit, compared to a year ago. However, shares of the bank fell amid signs that its mortgage business weakened during the quarter.
Speaking of things economic, the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters will release the latest edition of their consumer sentiment index this morning.
According to a recent Gallup poll, consumer confidence registered its sharpest one-week drop since the period immediately following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, with people worried about how the fracas in Washington could hit their wallets.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 2.66% from Thursday’s 2.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank $1.74 to $101.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $30.20 to $1,266.70 U.S. an ounce.
