Markets in Toronto dropped to their lowest in two weeks on Friday as worries that valuations in the U.S. technology sector are too high hurt global appetite for equities and helped pull down shares in most major groups.
The S&P/TSX composite index greeted noon behind 44.83 points to 14,263.17
The Canadian dollar stepped back 0.17 cents at 91.29 cents U.S.
The Toronto market's benchmark index declined for a second straight session, though it is still up about 4.6% this year.
Financials, dipped as Toronto-Dominion Bank lost 0.3% to $50.83, and Manulife Financial shed 1.3% to $20.03.
Industrials slipped, with Canadian Pacific Railway falling 1% to $157.10.
Energy shares lost ground despite gains in the price of oil. Suncor Energy Inc was down 1% at $39.29
Former Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who steered Canada through the global financial crisis and then nearly eliminated the huge budget deficits he had run up in the process, died on Thursday just weeks after resigning.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange remained positive 2.41 points to 996.10
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, what with consumer discretionaries slipping 0.6%, financials diving 0.5% and industrials easing 0.4%
The two gainers were in real-estate, up 0.8%, and the metals and mining group, ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks sank early Friday, extending this week's heavy losses, after JPMorgan reported earnings that fell short of investors' expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained 73.66 points – off its lows of the morning – to 16,096.56. The S&P 500 was negative 6.21 points to 1,826.87, while the NASDAQ was behind 16.38 points to 4,037.73
It's been a tough week for so-called momentum stocks, with high-flying technology and health-care companies bearing the brunt. The NASDAQ is down more than 2% for the week.
All three major U.S. stock indexes are now negative for the year. Even the S&P 500 is off more than 1% year to date.
JPMorgan's results were hurt by weakness in bond trading, but consumer lending and deposits were a bright spot. Despite the lackluster quarter, CEO Jamie Dimon said he has "growing confidence in the economy."
The news was a bit rosier for Wells Fargo, which reported a double-digit profit gain for the first quarter.
Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs will report results next week.
Overall, earnings for the companies in the S&P 500 are expected to fall 1.2% in the first quarter, according to FactSet Research. That would mark the first annual decline since the third quarter of 2012.
In corporate news, shares of H&R Block jumped after the company said it will sell its bank to Bofl Federal Bank. Shares of retailer GAP slid after the retailer reported a sales decline for March.
Economically speaking, the U.S. producer price index – a measurement of wholesale inflation -- advanced a seasonally-adjusted 0.5% after falling slightly in February, the U.S. Labor Department said -- the largest increase since last June and surpassing the 0.1% estimate of economists.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries lost ground, raising yields back to Thursday’s 2.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices grew 81 cents to $104.21 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $1.50 to $1,319 U.S. an ounce.
