Canada's main stock index was lower on Friday morning as losses in financial shares countered gains in energy and materials stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell back 51.32 points to greet noon at 15,304.73
The Canadian dollar gained 0.03 cents at 78.33 cents U.S.
The financial index was down, led by declines in Toronto-Dominion Bank, down 58 cents to $71.65, and Royal Bank of Canada, down 62 cents to $97.72
Torex Gold Resources rose $3.66, or 47.8%, to $11.32, to $and boosted the materials group. The miner said blockades at its ELG Mine Complex in Mexico had been lifted.
Canadian National Railway was down 67 cents to $94.57 and was the biggest drag on the industrial sector.
Suncor Energy shed three cents to $46.11, even as crude oil prices fell.
One of the largest decliners on the index was Aphria Inc, down 71 cents, or 6.5% to $10.19.
Among the most active Canadian stocks by volumes were Aurora Cannabis, Nemaska Lithium and Neovasc Inc.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 32,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate stayed put at 5.8%
Elsewhere, Western University’s IVEY Purchasing Managers’ Index measured 59.8 in March, in contrast to readings of 59.6 in February, and 61.1 in March 2017. A reading above 50 indicates an increase in the pace of activity.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the United States, Mexico and Canada are "moving forward in a significant way" at talks to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 1.91 points to 768.65
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, with health-care slumping 2.5%, information technology down 0.7%, and energy off 0.5%
The three gainers were co-led by gold and telecoms, up 0.6% each, and consumer discretionaries up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply on Friday as worries of a trade war between the U.S. and China grew. Wall Street also digested employment data that missed analyst expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 327.13 points, or 1.3%, to 24,178.09, with Boeing and Caterpillar as the biggest decliners in the index.
The S&P 500 skidded 27.3 points, or 1.1%, to 2,634.99, with industrials as the worst-performing sector.
The NASDAQ Composite index dipped 58.17 points to 7,016.53
The move lower in stocks also follows the release of much weaker-than-expected jobs data. The U.S. Labor Department reported the economy stateside added 103,000 jobs in March. Economists expected a gain of 193,000.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note picked up, lowering yields to 2.79% from Thursday’s 2.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.36 a barrel to $62.18 U.S.
Gold prices gained $7.60 to $1,336.10 U.S. an ounce.
