The Toronto stock market endured a lower open Friday, amid soft commodity prices and an earnings disappointment from U.S. banking giant JPMorgan Chase.
The S&P/TSX Composite began Friday fell 61.26 points to 12,213.06
The Canadian dollar regressed 0.33 cents to 97.82 cents U.S.
The TSX was on track to end the week positive as weak Chinese trade data raised hopes that banking officials in that country are set to relax lending requirements in order to encourage growth, which sent copper prices surging more than 6% and resource stocks higher.
China is the world's biggest consumer of the metal, which is viewed as an economic bellwether as it is used in so many businesses.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that Canada's merchandise exports increased 3.2% in November over the month before, while imports declined 0.8%. As a result, Canada's trade balance with the world went from a deficit of $487 million in October to a surplus of $1.1 billion in November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 6.57 points to 1,533.93, while the Nasdaq Canada index slid 2.71 points to 395.17
All 14 Toronto subgroups started the day in negative territory. Global base metals declined 1.1%, metals and mining retreated 1%, and energy stocks skidded 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks slid at the open Friday as anxious investors reacted to reports suggesting that Standard and Poor's may downgrade several euro-zone countries later in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrials backpedaled 102.93 points to start Friday at 12,368.10
The S&P 500 gave back 9.57 points to 1,285.93, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 17.77 points to 2,706.93
JPMorgan Chase's disappointing fourth-quarter earnings also weighed on the market.
Meanwhile, investors were also on edge after lackluster earnings from JPMorgan Chase, the first of the big Wall Street banks to deliver fourth-quarter results.
JPMorgan Chase shares fell 3%, after the bank announced it earned 90 cents U.S. per share in the fourth quarter, down from $1.12 U.S. a year earlier.
In a statement, CEO Jamie Dimon called the results "disappointing," but said JPMorgan sees "see signs of improvement in loan demand and credit quality" going forward.
Investors will be tuning into a slew of bank earnings next week. Wells Fargo and Citigroup are scheduled to report their earnings on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs reports on Wednesday, and Bank of America and Morgan Stanley weigh in on Thursday.
Novartis shares fell after the pharmaceutical company announced it is restructuring its U.S. business -- a move that will result in 1,960 job cuts.
The company said the restructuring will lead to a charge of $160 million U.S. in the first quarter of 2012, and an annual savings of approximately $450 million U.S. by 2013.
While solid demand at recent debt auctions in Italy and Spain have calmed some investors, a Reuters report suggesting that S&P could downgrade several euro-zone countries at some point on Friday sparked a fresh bout of worries.
Last month, the rating agency put 15 members of the euro currency union, including top-rated Germany and France, on review for a rating cut. The Reuters report, citing a "senior euro-zone source," said Germany would not be among the downgraded countries.
S&P did not comment on the report.
On the economic front, government said the nation's trade gap widened in November to $47.75 billion U.S. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expected the deficit to stand at $44 billion U.S.
December import prices slid 0.1%, while export prices were down 0.5%.
Later Friday, the University of Michigan will release its Consumer Sentiment Index for the month of January, which is expected to have improved to 71.2 from 69.9 in December.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note jumped, pushing yields down to 1.87% from Thursday’s 1.93%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery slid 75 cents to $98.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $7.70 to $1,640 U.S. an ounce.
