Stocks throughout North America were uniformly clobbered this week, Friday being no exception, as weakness in Canadian tech stocks overcame dominance in resource issues.
The TSX dropped 90.06 points to conclude Friday and the week at 15,580.64, for a loss on the week of 723 points, or 4.44%.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.04 cents at 75.06 cents U.S.
Regions across North America revert to Standard Time on the weekend, and residents are urged to set their clocks back an hour before bed on Saturday. Remember: spring forward, fall backward.
Tech issues proved the heaviest weight on the market, with Shopify slumbering $67.10, or 5.2%, to $1,229.31, while Absolute Software faded 68 cents, or 68 cents, or 4.3%, to $15.22.
Utilities got roughed up as well, as Canadian Utilities sagged $2.17, or 6.5%, to $31.07, while ATCO Ltd. fell $1.52, or 3.9%, to $37.09.
In the consumer discretionary sector, Canada Goose Holdings swooned $2.94, or 6.6%, to $41.34, while Spin Master lost $1.46, or 5.2%, to $26.71.
Gold led the three gaining subgroups, as OceanaGold Corporation picked up seven cents, or 4.2%, to $1.73, while B2Gold added 34 cents, or 4.1%, to $8.59.
Among materials, Pan American Silver increased in price $1.41, or 3.1%, to $42.43, while Wheaton Precious Metals strengthened $2.17, or 3.7%, to $61.06.
Energy stocks did their best, too, with MEG Energy up 15 cents, or 6.6%, to $2.42, while Imperial Oil jumped 91 cents, or 5.5%, to $17.57.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said the economy progressed in August, with the Gross Domestic Product growing 1.2%, as 15 of 20 industrial sectors were up and two were essentially unchanged in the month.
Elsewhere, the raw materials index fell 2.2%, pulled downward mainly by lower prices for crude energy products, while the industrial product price index edged down 0.1% in September, led by lower prices for energy and petroleum products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 3.36 points to close out Friday and the week at 683.78, backtracking 34.34 points on the week, or 4.78%.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the red to end the week, as information technology shed 2.7%, while utilities slumped 2.4%, and consumer discretionary stocks dipped 2.1%.
The three gainers were gold, brighter by 1.5%, materials, better by 1%, and energy, 0.3% more energetic.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Friday, led by major tech shares, as Wall Street wrapped up a difficult week in which coronavirus cases rose, U.S. fiscal stimulus talks broke down and traders braced for volatile swings during next week’s election.
The Dow Jones Industrials slid 157.51 points to 26,501.60.
The S&P 500 skidded 40.15 points, or 1.2%, to 3,269.96
The NASDAQ swooned 274 points, or 2.2%, to 10,937.31.
The Dow fell 6.5%, and the S&P 500 is down 5.6%, for the week and sustained their biggest weekly losses since March. The NASDAQ has lost more than 5% over that time period and was also headed for its worst one-week performance since March.
The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all posted their first back-to-back monthly losses since March. The Dow lost more than 6% this month while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ each declined by more than 5% in October.
Shares of Apple fell 5.6% after the tech giant reported a 20% decline in iPhone sales and failed to offer investors any guidance for the quarter ahead. Amazon dropped 5.5% even after the e-commerce giant reported blowout third-quarter results with a big beat on the top line.
Meanwhile, Twitter lost more than 21% after the social media company reported user growth that fell short of expectations. Facebook was off by 6.3% amid a surprise decline in active users in Canada and the U.S.
Shares of Alphabet bucked the negative trend for tech stocks, rising 3.8% after the Google parent company posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street expectations.
Earlier in the week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell adjourned the Senate until Nov. 9, making it unlikely for Democrats and Republicans to reach a deal on new fiscal stimulus. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, meanwhile, accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of miscasting the state of the stalled negotiations, calling it a “political stunt.”
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury sank, raising yields to 0.87% from Thursday’s 0.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 59 cents at $35.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $9.70 to $1,877.70
