Equity markets in Canada’s largest centre edged lower on Friday, on declines in shares of financial, energy and utility companies.
The S&P/TSX composite index dipped 6.87 points to conclude the day and the week at 15,569.92
The Canadian dollar fell 0.06 cents to 91.90 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks were among the strongest on the day, what with Catamaran Corp. climbing 2.3% to $52.91.
Global base metals also shone with Teck Resources up 0.4% to $24.32.
Bank stocks took big hits, with Royal Bank of Canada settling 0.4% to $80.82, Toronto Dominion slipping 0.4% to $57.55, and Bank of Montreal falling 0.6% to $84.35.
Shares of Manulife Financial were down for a second day in a row after the company earlier this week said it had agreed to buy Standard Life's Canadian operations.
Manulife was down 0.5% at $21.94 and has lost more than 2% since the deal was announced.
Goldcorp gave up 0.7% at $28.01 the day after its chief executive said 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.
Shares of Bombardier ended the day unchanged at $3.65 after the train and plane maker said flight testing for its CSeries will resume this month.
Air Canada rose 2.3% to $9.03 after it said its load factor rose in August.
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 dropped 0.54 points to 994.89.
By the closing bell, the 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, with health-care stocks muscling up 1.2%, global base metals up 0.4%, and real-estate issues moving into the green by 0.2%
The seven laggards were weighed mostly by utilities, down 0.5%, financials, down 0.3%, and telecoms, off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The U.S. stock market rose modestly on Friday as investors shrugged off a weaker-than-expected jobs report. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded their fifth consecutive weekly gains.
The Dow Jones Industrials strengthened 67.78 points to end the day and week at 17,137.36
The S&P 500 was in the green 10.06 points to 2,007.71. The NASDAQ regrouped and regained 20.61 points to 4,582.90.
Tesla Motors shares fell 3.2% as investors are pulling back after outsize gains made partially in anticipation of the electric vehicle manufacturer’s decision on where to locate its battery factory.
Shares of Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. slid after the company’s biggest shareholder sold its stake overnight.
Quiksilver Inc. plunged 28% as the apparel retailer’s third-quarter results missed analysts’ estimates.
Gap Inc shares fell 4.64% after the apparel retailer reported disappointing sales for August.
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 lost ground, raising yields to 2.46% from Thursday’s 2.45%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.04 to $93.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices remained positive $1.30 to $1,267.80 U.S. an ounce.
