Canadian stocks ended once again in the red at a seven-month low Friday, with the mining and energy issues paring gains, on continued concerns over the eurozone debt crisis and the much touted Facebook debut not taking off as expected. Toronto stocks toed global cues with most of the markets worldwide in the negative, linked to the deepening eurozone crisis.
Concerns over the eurozone debt problems continued with Fitch Ratings downgrading Greece's credit rating by one notch to CCC from B-, mainly on fears the nation will exit the eurozone. Meanwhile, Moody's Investor Service downgraded 16 of Spain's banks. Investors now await news from the scheduled Group of Eight meeting scheduled this weekend that is expected to primarily discuss the eurozone problems.
Toronto's main index, the S&P/TSX, closed Friday at 11,280.64, down 50.04 points or 0.44 percent. The S&P/TSX Composite Index touched an intraday high of 11,435.70 and a low of 11,256.72.
The TSX Venture Index closed at 1,227.88, down 0.19 points or 0.02 percent. The index opened at 1,229.34 compared to its previous close of 1,228.07.
Almost all major indices of the S&P/TSX Index were in negative territory, with the exception of the Energy Index and the Global Gold Index.
The Global Gold Index moved up 0.66 percent, with gold prices moving higher. Gold futures for June delivery rose $17.00 or 1.1 percent to close at $1,591.90 an ounce Friday on the NYMEX.
Among gold stocks, Goldcorp. (G.TO) shed 0.31 percent, Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) was down 1.10 percent, and Kinross Gold (K.TO) dropped 1.14 percent. B2Gold (BTO.TO) gained 1.61 percent, while Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) moved up 0.82 percent. Lake Share Gold (LSG.TO) rose 4.65 percent.
The Materials Index shed 0.05 percent with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) down 0.65 and Mercator Minerals Ltd. (ML.TO) down 3.39 percent.
The Metals & Mining Index shed 0.39 percent with Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) up 0.27 percent, while Osisko Mining Corporation (OSK.TO) dropped 0.28 percent. Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) dropped 2.0 percent., while First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) gained 1.45 percent.
U.S. crude oil futures dropped to settle lower Friday, June delivery dropping $1.08 or 1.2 percent a barrel on the NYMEX.
The Energy Index edged up 0.20 percent with Suncor Energy (SU.TO) down 0.51 percent, while Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) edged up 0.64 percent. Encana Corp (ECA.TO) gained 0.55 percent, while Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM) slipped 0.20 percent.
The Financial Index slipped 0.82 percent with Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC.TO) dropping 1.52 percent and Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF.TO) down 1.92 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) dropped 0.50 percent, while Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) slipped 0.91 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) dropped 1.16 percent.
Heavyweights transportation systems maker Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) was down 1.33 percent, while smartphone maker Research In Motion Limited (RIM) shelved 3.62 percent.
Meanwhile, Sears Canada Inc. (SCC.TO) extended losses, dipping 3.76 percent. Yesterday, the stock plunged nearly 13 percent after Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) announced plans to spin off a minority stake in Sears Canada Inc.
Interactive technology products company SMART Technologies Inc. (SMA.TO) plunged 24.75 percent after reporting a slip to loss in the fourth quarter.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said consumer prices rose 2.0 percent in the 12 months to April, led by increases in transportation costs. Economists were expecting the index to come in at 1.90 percent. Energy prices increased 1.1 percent in the 12 months to April, following a 5.1 percent rise in March. The slower increase in April was largely attributable to smaller price gains for gasoline and electricity, as well as price declines for natural gas (-13.9 percent).
Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada's core index rose 2.1 percent in the 12 months to April, led by price increases for the purchase of passenger vehicles. This increase followed a 1.9 percent gain in the core index in March.
In economic news from the eurozone, Germany's producer price inflation slowed to the lowest level in twenty-two months in April, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The output price inflation eased to 2.4 percent in April from 3.3 percent in March, while economists expected inflation to slow to 2.5 percent. The growth rate for April was the smallest since June 2010, when output prices increased 1.7 percent.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.