Canada's main stock index opened lower on Friday, taking a cue from global markets and a drop in crude oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gave up 47.65 points to begin Friday at 14,876.44
The Canadian dollar shed 0.15 cents to 76.09 cents U.S.
Belgian news media are reporting that broadcast and video technology company EVS Group does not know what Canadian rival Evertz Technologies plans to do after taking a 3% stake in EVS this week.
Evertz shares retreated eight cents to $15.32.
Evercore ISI raised the price target on Calfrac Well Services to $8.00 from $7.00.
Calfrac shares moved ahead 18 cents, or 4.2%, to $4.44.
Barclays cut the price target on IGM Financial to $34.00 from $40.00. IGM shares slid 28 cents to $31.82.
Canaccord Genuity cut the price target on Vermilion Energy to $55.00 from $60.00. Vermilion shares nicked up a penny to $45.37.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nosed lower 0.15 points to 646.47
All but three of the 12 subgroups were lower, with information technology and consumer discretionary stocks each fading 0.8%, while communications issues settled 0.5%.
The three gainers were gold, shining 2.1% brighter, materials, better by 0.7%, and energy edging 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday as the release of disappointing quarterly results from key tech companies overshadowed strong economy data.
The Dow Jones Industrials plunged 387.21 points, or 1.6%, to 24,587.34, with Cisco Systems lagging.
The S&P 500 dipped 56.63 points, or 2.1%, to 2,648.94, and is now down more than 10% from its 52-week high, entering correction territory.
The NASDAQ plummeted 201.66 points, or 2.8%, to 7,116.68
Amazon fell 8.6%, and Google-parent company Alphabet swooned 4.9%, after they released their latest quarterly results. Earnings for both companies topped analyst estimates, but revenues fell short.
These losses also add to a sharp drop seen throughout this month. Through Thursday's close, the Dow retreated 5.6%, and S&P 500 was down 7.2% for October. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, had lost 9.1%.
The Commerce Department reported the U.S. economy grew at a 3.5% rate in the third quarter, above a 3.4% estimate. The government also said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, a key measure of inflation, increased by 1.6% last quarter.
Stock have suffered in recent weeks as fears of rising inflation — and rising interest rates — trim corporate profit expectations. Since the PCE index is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, any sign that the measure may be slowing could stall the central bank in its plan to continue to raise the overnight rate.
Consumer spending, which account for more than two-thirds of economic activity, surged by 4% in the third quarter, the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2014.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury hiked, lowering yields to 3.08% from Thursday’s 3.13%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded 73 cents at $66.60 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices leaped $5.50 an ounce to $1,232.10
