Canada's main index was trading lower this afternoon, led by weakness in health-are stocks. Investors were also digesting data on the housing front that showed another climb in housing prices.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index fell 56.12 points to 14739.94.
In corporate news -- Brookfield Asset Management, which fell 2.6 percent to $44.64 after reporting its quarterly earnings.
Sun Life Financial will continue to pursue acquisitions through the remainder of 2016, potentially expanding further in Asia, the insurer's chief executive said on Thursday. Its shares declined 0.4 percent to $41.46.
Concordia International Corp shares declined 23.8 percent to $16.2 after the healthcare company's earnings disappointed and it halted its dividend
On the economic front -- Canadian home prices climbed in July, driven by gains in some of the country's hottest markets, including Toronto and Vancouver, a home price index showed on Friday.
Prices rose 2.0 percent last month from June, according to the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, and were up 10.9 percent from a year earlier.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.37 percent to 77.25 cents.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched down 1.94 points to 834.71.
Three of the 13 subgroups were positive -- Energy shares were up 0.40%, real-estate issues rose 0.18%, and utilities inched ahead 0.17%.
On the downside -- health-care sank 3.9%, while mining dipped 2.86%, and metals slid 2.36%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were lower Friday, pulling back from record levels set a day earlier, when all three main benchmarks closed at all-time highs, as investors digested weaker-than-expected retail sales data and an unexpected drop in wholesale prices.
The main indexes were on track to finish the week flat.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 53 points, or 0.29%, to 18,560 while the Nasdaq Composite Index was off 4.57 points, or 0.09%, at 5,223.83 and The S&P 500 index shed 2.83 points, or 0.13%, lower at 2,182.94.
U.S. retail sales stalled in July after three straight monthly gains, according to government data released Friday. Retail sales, which have increased 2.3% over the past 12 months, are an important part of consumer spending, which is the backbone of the U.S. economy.
Meanwhile, U.S. wholesale prices fell 0.4% in July, the biggest drop since September 2015, according to a government report released Friday. The Producer Price Index was down 0.4% after jumping 0.5% in June, while over the past year overall producer prices are down 0.2% in unadjusted terms.
In earnings news, Nordstrom jumped 8.3% after reporting a better-than-expected second quarter. Earnings of 67 cents a share beat by 11 cents, while revenue fell 1.4% to $3.65 billion, largely in line with consensus.
Planet Fitness exceeded analysts' estimates on its top and bottom line over the recent quarter. The gym chain earned 17 cents a share on revenue of $91.47 million, nearly 16% higher than a year earlier. Analysts expected earnings of 15 cents a share on revenue of $85 million. Shares rose 5.8%.
Graphics chipmaker Nvidia reported strong earnings on Thursday. The company earned 53 cents a share, breezing past estimates of 37 cents a share. Revenue of $1.43 billion exceeded expectations of $1.35 billion. The company also raised its earnings estimates for the next quarter. Shares were up 2.5%.
J.C. Penney was up 2% after narrowing its quarterly loss and affirming positive adjusted earnings for the full year. The retailer narrowed its per-share loss to 18 cents, less than a loss of 38 cents a share a year earlier.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, dropped 8.5 basis points to 1.490%, its second lowest level in history. Over the week, the yield is on track to decline about 10 basis points.
U.S. crude oil for September delivery recently rose 48 cents, or 1.1%, to $43.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
