Stocks in Canada’s largest market fell on Friday as energy stocks tumbled with crude. Sources said the Organization for the Petroleum Exporting Countries had agreed to increase the producer group's output limit, while disappointing domestic jobs and trade data also weighed.
The S&P/TSX composite index sank 25.99 points to greet noon at 13,298.68
The Canadian dollar stepped back 0.09 cents to 74.80 cents U.S.
Suncor Energy Inc declined 2.2% to $35.95 and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd declined 3.1% to $29.89.
Canadian Pacific Railway fell 4.2% to $180 after Norfolk Southern Corp rejected its $28.4-billion U.S. acquisition proposal.
Gold miners moved higher, with Barrick Gold Corp advancing 5.7% to $10.66 and Goldcorp Inc up 4.4% to $16.80.
Experts say OPEC ministers, heading into their meeting in Vienna, looked unlikely to take steps to cut oil production to lift languishing prices, potentially worsening one of the worst crude gluts in history.
Statistics Canada announced that the economy shed 36,000 jobs in November, most of them part-time jobs. The decline follows a similar-sized rise in October. The unemployment rate moved forward 0.1 percentage points to 7.1%.
Still on the economic beat, the agency also reported that Canada's exports decreased 1.8% and imports declined 0.8% in October. That means our merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $2.3 billion in September to $2.8 billion in October.
Finally, Western University in London, Ontario reported that its Ivey Purchasing Managers Index stood at 63.6 in November, compared to 53.1 the month before, and 56.9 in November 2014.
The survey tracks purchasing managers of companies on whether their buys improved, fell back, or stayed static during the month. Any reading over 50 implies expansion.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.85 points to 517.57.
Seven of the 13 TSX subgroups were lower, with energy failing 2.4%, industrials staggering 1.2%, and utilities off 0.5%.
The half-dozen gainers were headed by gold, up 4.7%, materials, up 2.5%, and the metals and mining group, up 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks raced higher Friday, mostly shaking off pressure from low oil prices, as investors cheered a solid jobs report.
The Dow Jones industrial average leaped 246.33 points, or 1.4%, to approach midday at 17,724, with Goldman Sachs and Apple contributing the most to gains.
The S&P 500 gained 22.98 points, or 1.1%, to 2,072.60, back into positive territory for the year after closing lower year-to-date Thursday. Energy stocks slackened, but financials led all other sectors higher.
The NASDAQ index vaulted 61.55 points, or 1.2%, to 5,099.08
November jobs report beat headline expectations with creation of 211,000 and showed an increase in wages and continued low unemployment, as expected. The number of jobs created in October and September were also revised higher. Experts had called for a rise of around 200,000 jobs last month.
In other economic news, the U.S. trade deficit widened unexpectedly by 3.4% to $43.9 billion U.S. in October as exports fell to a three-year low, suggesting that strong dollar pressure on trade could again weigh on economic growth in the fourth quarter.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 2.28% from Thursday’s 2.32%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 89 cents a barrel to $40.19 U.S.
Gold prices hiked $24.83 to $1,086.94 U.S. an ounce.
