Stock indices in Canada’s largest centre fell sharply on Friday as investors continued to dump equities amid fears over the economic impact of the coronavirus, with energy stocks hurt by steep declines in oil prices.
The TSX Composite Index dumped 382.49 points, or 2.3%, to lead off Friday at 16,171.50
The Canadian dollar tailed off 0.01 cents to 74.56 cents U.S.
Alaris Royalty fell $1.80, or 10.5%, the most on the TSX, to $15.38, after posting a fourth-quarter loss. The second biggest decliner was Vermilion Energy, down $1.35, or 10.6%, to $11.36.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Barrick Gold, which jumped 43 cents, or 1.5%, to $28.86, and TMX Group Limited, which rose $1.30, or 1.1%, to $119.69.
Back to Barrick, the miner said Friday said it was increasing its inventory of key commodities to above normal levels because of the global spread of coronavirus, though placed and forecast orders were unchanged and supplies to mines were not affected.
Canada's three top telecoms companies - Bell, a subsidiary of BCE Inc, Rogers Communications and Telus Corp - must lower prices of their mid-range wireless service plans by 25% within two years, or face regulatory action to increase competition, the federal government said on Thursday.
BCE shares fell $1.53, or 2.4%, to $61.14.
Rogers shares docked $2.05, or 3.2%, to $61.99. Telus shares ducked $1.37, or 2.7%, to $48.94.
RBC cut the target price on Crescent Point Energy to $6.50 from $7.50. Crescent shares fell 15 cents, or 4.5%, to $3.16.
RBC cut the target price on Martinrea International to $20.00 from $22.00. Martinrea shares capsized 26 cents, or 2.4%, to $10.64.
RBC cut the rating on Spin Master to sector perform from outperform. Spin Master lost 74 cents, or 4.2%, to $17.04.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that employment was little changed in February, the economy having created 30,000 jobs and the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 5.6%.
Elsewhere, the agency reported that Canada's merchandise exports fell 2.0% in January, while imports were down 0.5%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $732 million in December 2019 to $1.5 billion in January.
Western University’s IVEY Purchasing Managers Index rolled in for February. The index skidded to 51.7 last month from January's reading of 57.3, but way above the 50.6 level in February 2019. Still, any reading above 50 constitutes expansion of purchases.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange deducted 5.42 points, or 1%, to 515.85.
All 12 TSX subgroups stumbled out of the gate, with information technology down 3.3%, health-care down 3%, and communications off 2.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks cratered on Friday, extending the deep rout in the previous session, as Wall Street edges close to the end of a tumultuous trading week.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 696.03 points, or 2.7%, to open Friday at 25,425.25
The broader S&P 500 dived 85 points, or 2.8%, to 2,937.14.
The NASDAQ plunged 227.64 points, or 2.6%, to 8,510.95.
Stocks remained sharply lower even after a blowout jobs report. The U.S. economy added 273,000 jobs in February, beating expectations of 175,000 new payrolls last month. The unemployment rate also fell back to 3.5%, matching its lowest level in more than 50 years.
It has been a roller-coaster trading week on Wall Street, as the 30-stock Dow swing 1,000 points or higher twice within three days. Friday’s declines extended a deep rout for stocks, adding to a 969-point loss for the Dow in the previous session.
The expanding health crisis kept investors on edge as global cases of the coronavirus infections surpassed 100,000 with at least 3,383 deaths around the world. In the U.S., at least 12 people have died of the disease. California has declared a state of emergency, while the number of infections in New York reached 22.
President Donald Trump on Friday signed a sweeping spending bill of an $8.3-billion package to aid prevention efforts and research to quickly produce a vaccine for the deadly disease.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury moved sharply higher, lowering yields to 0.74% from Thursday’s 0.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid $2.74 to $43.16 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $16.60 to $1,684.60 U.S. an ounce.
