Equity markets in Toronto slipped on Friday and was set for weekly losses as investors were cautious ahead of a Bank of Canada meeting next week, while domestic retail sales surprisingly declined in November.
The TSX Composite stayed negative by noon EST, 16.1 points to 20,740.03.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.09 cents to 74.24 cents U.S.
Real estate firm Tricon Residential jumped $3.21, or 27.6%, to $14.86 to become the top gainer after Investment management company Blackstone agreed to take the company private for $3.5 billion.
Richelieu Hardware declined $2.00, or 4.5%, to $42.51, after it was downgraded to "sector perform" from "outperform" by the National Bank of Canada.
Retail trade figures decreased 0.2% to $66.6 billion in November. Sales were down in four of nine subsectors and were led by decreases at food and beverage retailers.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 2.04 points midday to 549.14.
All but two of the 12 subgroups were lower as morning became afternoon, with consumer discretionary and gold stocks fading 0.6% each, and materials declining 0.7%.
The two gainers proved to be real-estate, soaring 0.9%, and financials ahead 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Friday as investors returned to buying equities in force in recent days following a short-lived market stumble to start the new year.
The Dow Jones Industrials surged 128.82 points at 37,597.43.
The S&P 500 index moved higher 22.99 points to 4,803.93, trading above the 4,800 level and its all-time closing high of 4,796.56 from January 2022.
The NASDAQ took on 98.57 points to pause for lunch Friday at 15,154.21.
Insurance company Travelers rose more than 4% after posting an earnings beat. Schlumberger N.V. gained nearly 2% after beating on top and bottom lines, and Ally Financial surged 9.4% after reporting strong quarterly results and a sale of a business unit to Synchrony Financial.
Fresh consumer data on Friday indicated that consumers are becoming more confident on the economy and inflation. The University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers showed a 21.4% year-over-year jump to reach its highest level since July 2021. Meanwhile, home sales declined 1% month-over-month in December 2023, marking 2023 as the worst year for full-year sales since 1995, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury faded, raising yields to 4.17% from Thursday’s 4.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices rose 48 cents to $73.60 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $4.10 to $2,025.70.
