The Toronto stock market was little changed Friday, ahead of a long weekend, but following a strong advance in the previous session with traders encouraged by the fact that Republicans and Democrats are finally negotiating an extension to the U.S. debt limit.
The S&P/TSX composite index shaved 2.30 points to end Friday at 12,892.11
The Canadian dollar gained 0.41 cents to 96.58 cents U.S.
Markets are closed Monday for Thanksgiving Day.
Utilities led advancers as Atlantic Power ran up 25 cents, or 5.3%, to $5.01.
The energy sector rose as Imperial Oil advanced 51 cents to $45.16.
Moody's Investor Services has cut Talisman Energy's rating outlook to negative from stable. Moody's said the downgrade reflects the uncertain outcome of the portfolio transformation taking place under the company's strategic repositioning.
The change in outlook comes just days after activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed a 6% stake in the company and Talisman shares subtracted a penny to $12.72.
The financials sector was up with Sun Life Financial ahead 44 cents at $33.77.
The gold sector was the weakest component, as Barrick Gold dropped 73 cents to $17.81.
Base metal stocks also pressured the TSX, even as December copper gained two cents to $3.27 U.S. a pound. Rio Alto Mining shed 11 cents to $1.72.
In corporate news, fertilizer giant Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. is reducing its earnings guidance for the third quarter to reflect lower sales.
The company says earnings per diluted share now are expected to come in at about 41 cents, down from the 45 to 60 cents per share it predicted back in July. Potash shares lost 51 cents to $32.46 on the TSX.
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%.
The agency says 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 6.15 points to end Friday at 929.37
Of the 14 Toronto subgroups, eight were negative on the day, weighed mostly by a 3% loss in gold stocks, while materials fell 1.7%, and health-care stocks dipped 0.6%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by utilities, up 1.2%, energy, up 0.5%, and financials, up 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
After one of the biggest rallies of the year, stocks moved higher again Friday as investors wait for further progress in Washington on resolving the debt ceiling standoff.
The Dow gained 111.04 points, to close out a busy week at 15,237.10
The S&P 500 index added 9.56 points to 1,702.12. The NASDAQ was up 31.13 points to 3,791.87
The small gains came a day after 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.
Thanks to the big rally, the Dow and S&P 500 are on track to end the week higher for the first time in three weeks. Both indexes are now above the level they were at before the shutdown began at the start of the month.
But the NASDAQ was on pace for a slight decline, its first down week since August. Some of the best-performing tech stocks of the year, such as Netflix and Facebook, fell sharply this week.
In addition to the debt ceiling talks, the first of the big banks started reporting quarterly results.
JPMorgan Chase 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.
Dimon called the bank's legal tab "painful" and warned that litigation costs could continue to be a drag on earnings for several quarters. The bank noted that it is holding $23 billion U.S. in reserves for potential litigation expenses.
The bank still managed to top forecasts, excluding charges. That sent the stock slightly higher.
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.
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.
Speaking of things economic, The University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters' gauge of consumer sentiment fell in October to the lowest level since January, according to a preliminary reading.
Separately, a recent Gallup poll showed that 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 sagged, raising yields back to Thursday’s 2.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank $1.16 to $101.85 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $27 to $1,267.90 U.S. an ounce.
