Equity markets in Toronto turned negative shortly after the open on Friday, reversing course after five straight days of gains as energy and material stocks led declines.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 65.66 points to open the week’s final session at 14,665.42
The Canadian dollar fell 0.16 cents at 76.99 cents U.S.
Canaccord Genuity cut the price target on Torc Oil & Gas Ltd to $13.00 from $13.50, convinced the trough for oil company cash capex outside North America may not occur until second-half of 2016 or later.
Torc shares dipped 19 cents, or 2.4%, to $7.75.
Canaccord Genuity cuts target price on Western Energy Services Corp. to $8.00 from $9.00, says while Canadian oilfield equities responded positively to a bottoming of oil prices this spring, momentum waned shortly after the Alberta provincial election.
Western Energy shares lost two cents to $5.78.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that inflation in Canada moved up last month. The consumer price index rose 1.0% in the 12 months to June, after increasing 0.9% in May. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in June, matching the increase in May.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 0.69 points to 638.74
All but three of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower to start out, with gold losing 2.6% of its luster, materials down 1.9%, and metals and mining skidding 1.8%.
The three gainers were industrials, up 0.2%, information technology, nicking up 0.1%, and consumer staples only 0.03% in the green.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mixed on Friday, with the NASDAQ at a new high, as investors digested more earnings and data reports.
The Dow Jones industrial average faded 59.26 points at the outset to 18,060.99, with Exxon Mobil leading decliners. General Electric led advancers after reporting earnings.
The S&P 500 slid 2.22 points to 2,122.07, with energy leading eight sectors lower and information technology and industrials the only advancers.
The NASDAQ index hiked 20.40 points to 5,183.59
The biotech and tech index jumped about 0.5% to a new intraday high as Google stocks surged about 13% or more.
Google reported earnings after Thursday's market close that topped analyst expectations.
The Dow transports also gained nearly 1% as Kansas City Southern surged nearly 6% despite reporting a sharp decline in profits.
Futures held near earlier mixed levels after the June consumer price index showed a fifth-straight month of increase with a rise of 0.3%, in-line with estimates. Stripping out food and energy costs, the core CPI rose 0.2% after rising 0.1% in May.
In other economic news, housing starts rebounded strongly in June, up 9.8%, and building permits surged to a near eight-year high.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were higher, lowering yields to 2.34% from Thursday’s 2.36%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shrank 23 cents a barrel to $50.68 U.S.
Gold prices tumbled seven dollars to $1,136.90 U.S. an ounce.
