Stocks were essentially flat to begin the last session of a short week, as investors digested disappointing jobs numbers from both sides of the border.
The S&P/TSX composite index dipped 9.05 points to open Friday at 15,567.74.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.01 cents to 91.94 cents U.S.
Goldcorp's gold production this year could end up near the bottom end of its forecast range if it is unable to restart output at one of its Mexican mines, the company's chief executive said on Thursday. Goldcorp shares dipped a penny to $28.21.
Bombardier's troubled CSeries is on the brink of resuming test flights in coming days, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Bombardier shares gained four cents to $3.69.
Canada is likely to choose between two major U.S. firms when it buys a new fleet of jet fighters, excluding two European competitors, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
CIBC raised the rating on Alliance Grain Traders to outperform from sector perform. Alliance shares gained 92 cents, or 3.4%, to $28.41.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that employment was little changed in August and the unemployment rate remained at 7.0%. The agency compared with 12 months earlier, employment increased by 81,000, or 0.5%, mostly in part-time work.
Western University’s IVEY Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 50.9 by the end of August, down from July’s reading of 54.1, and the 51 reading in August of last year.
The poll of company purchasing managers asks whether purchases were higher, lower or the same month during the month. A figure above 50 shows an increase while below 50 shows a decrease.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 1.12 points to 996.55.
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, with gold soaring 0.7%, materials up 0.5%, and health-care haler by 0.4%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by financials and consumer staples, each down 0.4%, while telecoms tracked 0.2% lower.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened slightly lower as a surprisingly weak jobs report indicated a marked slowdown in the labour market and outweighed expectations that the low interest rates will remain in place.
The Dow Jones Industrials slid 23.02 points to open Friday at 17,046.56
The S&P 500 fell 1.71 points to 1,995.94. The NASDAQ subsided 1.82 points to 4,560.35.
El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. gained after the restaurant franchise’s second-quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectations late Thursday.
Shares of Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. slid after the company’s biggest shareholder sold its stake overnight.
The U.S. economy added 142,000 new jobs in August, the smallest gain since December and well below Wall Street expectations for 228,000.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries moved higher, thus lowering yields to 2.42% from Thursday’s 2.45%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 12 cents to $94.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $1.50 to $1,268.00 U.S. an ounce.
