The Toronto stock market plunged over 200 points Friday afternoon as emerging market worries persuaded investors to avoid riskier assets like equities and commodities.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 215.21 points, or 1.5%, to end the day at 13,717.76
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.22 cents to 90.31 cents U.S.
The mining sector declined while March copper was off a cent at $3.28 U.S. a pound following a five-cent retreat Thursday on the China manufacturing data. Teck Resources lost 49 cents to $26.66 and HudBay Minerals lost 45 cents to $8.85.
The energy sector lost ground as Canadian Natural Resources gave back 69 cents to $35.49 and Suncor Energy shed 84 cents to $36.96.
Financials also weighed, with Manulife Financial down 93 cents to $20.98, while Royal Bank gave back $1.05 to $70.37.
The gold sector lost early momentum and turned down. Barrick Gold lost 40 cents to $21.03 and Kinross Gold faded 13 cents to $5.11.
The tech sector was the main advancer and shares in business software company Open Text Corp. ran ahead $11.38, or 11.4% to $110.57 as it posted a quarterly profit of $53.5 million U.S. or 90 cents a share, down from $61.1 million a year ago.
Revenue increased to $363.5 million from $352.2 million U.S. Open Text also said that it will split its stock two-for-one next month.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that consumer prices jumped 1.2% in December. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index increased 0.2% in December, matching the rise in November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange weakened 16.09 points to 967.30
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, weighed mostly by the global base metals group, down 3.4%, while industrials sank 2.6%, and the metals and mining group slid 2.2%
The two gainers were in information technology, up 0.6%, and utilities, ahead 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Friday was another ugly day on Wall Street -- and for markets around the globe.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 318.24 points, or nearly 2%, to close a mercifully short week at 15,879.11. The markets were closed Monday for Martin Luther King Day.
The S&P 500 index faded 38.17 points to 1,709.29. The NASDAQ hurtled earthward 90.70 points to 4,128.17, despite a jump in shares of Microsoft following strong quarterly sales and earnings.
The losses come at the end of what could wind up being the worst week for stocks in more than a year. The Dow has declined more than 3%, putting it on track for its work week since May 2012. The S&P 500 has slid more than 2%, which would be its biggest weekly decline since November 2012.
Meanwhile, the NASDAQ was on pace for its first weekly decline of the year.
Xerox shares took a dive after the copy machine company reported declines in quarterly revenue and profit.
Honeywell shares were also down as the defense contractor reported a slip in quarterly sales.
Procter & Gamble was one of the few bright spots in the market Friday. The stock rose nearly 2% after reporting quarterly profits that, while lower than a year ago, beat estimates.
Starbucks shares were also rising after the coffee giant reported better-than-expected earnings.
News from Corporate America didn't help. After last year's big rally, investors are looking for signs the economy will be strong enough to keep the bull market going but so far, this earnings season has been respectable, as opposed to spectacular.
Of the S&P 500 companies, 102 have reported fourth-quarter results, with only 66 beating analysts' estimates, according to S&P Capital IQ. Of the remainder, 26 have missed, and 10 have met expectations.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 2.74% from Thursday’s 2.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices doffed 42 cents to $96.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices grew $6.40 to $1,267.10 U.S. an ounce.
Ugly end to short week on Wall St.
