Reaction to the last move in the trade skirmish between the United States and China (and suspense over the next) played havoc with equity markets the world over.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell back 51.32 points to finish the day and the week at 15,304.73
The Canadian dollar gained 0.03 cents at 78.33 cents U.S.
One of the largest decliners on the index was Aphria Inc, down 59 cents, or 5.5% to $10.31, while elsewhere in the health-care field, Canopy Growth shed 80 cents, to 2.8%, to $27.69.
Tech stocks also went for a fall, as Titan Logix fell 1.1% to 45.5 cents, while TSO3 dropped five cents, or 5.1%, to 93 cents.
Among energy stocks, Imperial Oil docked 71 cents, or 2%, to $35.64, while Cenovus Energy lost 14 cents, or 1.1%, to $11.97.
Gold did its best to turn the tide, as Barrick Gold tacked on 18 cents, or 1.1%, to $16.23, while Goldcorp inched up eight cents to $17.96.
In 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 1.41 points to 769.15
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the red, with health-care diminishing 2.3%, information technology losing 1.4%, and energy, down 1.3%
The lone gainer was in gold, up 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply on Friday as worries of a trade war brewing between the U.S. and China grew. Wall Street also digested disappointing employment data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed 572.46 points, or 2.3%, to conclude a rollercoaster week at 23,932.76, closing back in correction. Boeing and Caterpillar were the biggest decliners in the 30-stock index.
The S&P 500 skidded 58.37 points, or 2.2%, to 2,604.47, with industrials as the worst-performing sector.
The NASDAQ Composite index lost 161.44 points, or 2.3%, to 6,915.11
For the week, the major averages closed lower as volatile trading persisted. The Dow declined 0.7% and the S&P 500 ditched 1.4% this week. The NASDAQ composite dropped 2.1%.
Boeing and Caterpillar, two companies that could be adversely affected by a trade war with China, both fell more than 3%.
Shares of large-cap tech companies also fell. Amazon dropped 3.2% while Apple fell 2.6%. Netflix dropped 1.7% after briefly trading higher.
Stocks briefly came off their lows in midday trading after an official from Mexico's economic ministry said the person was "very convinced" a new deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement will be reached soon.
But the major indexes resumed their decline after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said there was a possibility of a trade war with China.
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 2.78% from Thursday’s 2.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.59 a barrel to $61.95 U.S.
Gold prices gained $8.60 to $1,337.10 U.S. an ounce.
