Canadian stocks ended lower Friday, on continued eurozone concerns with the cut in Spain's credit rating and investor apprehension over data due from China after the country cut its lending rates. Investors now see the unexpected rate cut yesterday as an indicator of some soft economic data from China during the weekend.
Toronto's main index, the S&P/TSX, closed Friday at 11,500.63, down 91.49 points or 0.79 percent. The S&P/TSX Composite Index touched an intraday high of 11,575.33 and a low of 11,480.45.
The TSX Venture Index closed at 1,292.93, down 3.15 points or 0.24 percent. The index opened at 1,286.51 compared to its previous close of 1,296.08.
The major gainers of the S&P/TSX Index were the Materials and Global Gold indices, with Metals & Mining, Energy, and Financial indices the major decliners.
The Metals & Mining Index declined 1.29 percent with Teck Resources (TCK_B.TO) dropping 1.38 percent and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) down 1.38 percent. Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) gained 1.45 percent, while Osisko Mining Corp. (OSK.TO) surrendered 1.95 percent.
U.S. crude oil futures for July delivery dropped dropped $0.72 or 0.9 percent to close at $84.10 a barrel Friday on the NYMEX.
The Energy Index shed 1.32 percent with Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) dropping 2.36 percent, while Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) edged down 0.99 percent. Encana Corp (ECA.TO) fell 0.43 percent, while Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) moved up 0.74 percent.
The Global Gold Index moved up 0.48 percent, with gold futures for August delivery gained $3.40 or 0.2 percent to close at $1,591.40 an ounce Friday on the NYMEX.
Among gold stocks, Goldcorp. (G.TO) moved up 0.35 percent, Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) dropped 1.79 percent , and Alacer Gold Corp. (ASR.TO) shed 4.48 percent. Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) gained 0.85 percent and Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) gained 2.53 percent. Royal Gold (RGL.TO) gained 2.06 percent,
The Materials Index edged up 0.08 percent with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) down 1.06 percent and First Uranium Corp. up 2667 percent..
The Financial Index dropped 1.33 percent, led by Royal Bank of Canada down 1.33 percent and Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC.TO) down 1.81 percent. Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF.TO) edged down 0.09 percent, while Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) declined 1.76 percent.
Transportation systems maker Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.TO), edged down 1.58 percent, while smartphone maker Research In Motion Limited (RIM) gained 1.27 percent.
Water treatment services provider GLV Inc. (GLV_A.TO) dived over 14 percent after reporting a wider fourth-quarter normalized net loss of C$7.0 million or C$0.16 per share.
Engineering services provider Genivar Inc. (GNV.TO) surrendered over 5 percent after indicating it would acquire WSP Group Plc (WSH.L) in exchange of 435 pence in cash for each WSP Share, valuing WSP at approximately $442 million..
In economic news, Statistics Canada said employment edged up by 7,700 in the month of May, after two months of large gains. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was flat at 7.3 percent. Economists had expected 5,000 new jobs in May, and the unemployment rate to edge up to 7.4 percent.
Separately, the agency said Canada posted a trade deficit of $367 million in April, after five consecutive monthly surpluses. Merchandise exports declined 1.2 percent in April, while imports edged up 0.1 percent, resulting in a trade deficit of $367 million in April, down from a surplus of $152 million in March.
From the U.S., the Commerce Department said the nation exported some $182.9 billion in goods and services while imports were tallied at $233 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $50.1 billion. While the resulting overall trade deficit of $50.1 billion is lower than the $52.6 billion recorded in March, it remains higher than the $49.3 billion deficit level predicted by most economists.
Elsewhere, German exports declined 1.7 percent month-on-month in April after adjusting to seasonal and calendar variations, the Federal Statistical Office said. This was the first decline in exports since December 2011. Economists expected only a 0.7 percent fall in shipments during the month.
A report from the Office for National Statistics revealed U.K. output price inflation eased in May to the lowest since November 2009. Output price inflation fell to 2.8 percent in May from 3.2 percent in April. The annual rate was expected to stay at 3.2 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News