The Toronto stock market was sharply lower Friday and commodity prices weakened following disappointing trade data from the United States.
The S&P/TSX Composite fell Friday noon by 93.80 points to 12,180.52
The Canadian dollar regressed 0.46 cents to 97.69 cents U.S.
The base metals sector was down as the March copper contract edged five cents lower to $3.60 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources declined 94 cents to $39.04.
The gold sector was off while Barrick Gold Corp. faded 60 cents to $49.06.
Industrials were also weak with Canadian National Railway down $1.52 to $77.78.
Financials also pressured the TSX with Royal Bank down 33 cents to $52.44.
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 12.45 points to 1,528.05, while the Nasdaq Canada index slid 5.13 points to 395.17
All 14 Toronto subgroups reached the lunch break in negative territory. Metals and mining retreated 1.5%, gold and information technology each stumbled 1.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks slid Friday as anxious investors reacted to a report suggesting that Standard and Poor's may downgrade several euro-zone countries later in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrials backpedaled 97.59 points to approach noon Friday at 12,373.40
The S&P 500 gave back 9.50 points to 1,286, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 20.46 points to 2,704.24
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 4%, 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 calmed some investors, a Reuters report that said S&P could downgrade several euro-zone countries at some point 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%.
The University of Michigan also reported that its Consumer Sentiment Index for the month of January rose to 74 from 69.9 in December. Economists were expecting the index to rise to 71.2.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note jumped, pushing yields down to 1.85% from Thursday’s 1.93%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery slid 38 cents to $98.68 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $14.7 to $1,633 U.S. an ounce.
