Canada's main stock index fell at open on Friday, after the country's overall inflation missed the central bank's target for the second month in a row, while energy stocks came under additional pressure from a drop in oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index tumbled 81.4 points to begin Friday at 16,163.19
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.19 cents at 74.79 cents U.S.
Paulson & Co says it will not support Newmont Mining Corp's planned $10 billion takeover of rival Goldcorp Inc as the premium offered is unjustified.
Goldcorp shares dipped 14 cents to $14.80
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on Aritzia Inc. to $23 from $21. Aritzia shares gained seven cents to $17.05.
CIBC raised the price target on Boyd Group Income Fund to $161.00 from $132.00. Boyd Group units gained seven cents to $141.20.
Desjardins raises price target on Mosaic Capital to $5.25 from $5.00. Mosaic shares dissolved 12 cents, or 2.3%, to $5.21.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported retail sales faded for the third consecutive month, declining 0.3% to $50.1 billion in January. Lower sales – lower by 1.5% -- at motor vehicle and parts dealers contributed to the majority of the decline. Excluding sales in this sub-sector, retail sales increased 0.1%.
The Consumer Price Index rose 1.5% on a year-over-year basis in February, up from a 1.4% increase in January. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI increased 0.3% in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked higher 0.73 points to 641.94
All but three of the 12 Toronto subgroups were on the downside looking up in the first hour of trade, as health-care sank 1.6%, financials slumped 0.6%, and information technology slouched 0.5%
The three gainers were gold, up 0.8%, while utilities and consumer staples each fought doggedly higher, 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks dropped on Friday as jitters over the global economy were sparked by dreadful manufacturing data out of Europe and the Federal Reserve's cautious outlook on the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 264.79 points, or 1%, to open the week’s final session at 25,697.72, as Nike shares underperformed.
The S&P 500 dumped 27.51 points to 2,828.37, led by declines in the energy and financials sectors.
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 86.2 points to 7,752.76
Nike shares also pressured stocks. The “Just-Do-It” company's stock fell 4.7% on the back of weak quarterly sales growth in North America
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury spiked, weighing yields to 2.45% from Thursday’s 2.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.10 to $58.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $7.00 to $1,314.30 U.S. an ounce.
