Toronto stocks hit their lowest levels in more than seven weeks on Friday, led by technology shares, after recent data signaled persistent inflation and fueled fears of further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada (BoC).
The TSX was off its lows of the morning, but still trailed breakeven 28.82 points to pause for noon hour EDT at 19,783.41.
The Canadian dollar docked 0.07 cents to 73.75 cents U.S.
Shares of Tilray Brands rose nine cents, or 2.5%, to $3.67 after the pot producer said it had acquired the remaining 57.5% stake it did not own in cannabis-infused drinks maker Truss Beverage from Molson Coors.
The recent economic data has sparked a selloff across Canadian equities, with the benchmark index down over 3% this week.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada says in July, the Industrial Product Price Index increased 0.4% month over month and fell 2.7% year over year. The Raw Materials Price index rose 3.5% month over month in July and was 11.1% lower compared with July 2022.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 2.95 points to 582.77.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were still lower, with information technology down 0.7%, materials and gold each settling 0.6%.
The four gainers were led by health-care, surging 1.1%, utilities, improving 0.5%, and communications, inching ahead 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were flat Friday, building on this week’s losses, as Wall Street’s August struggles continue.
The Dow Jones Industrials fought their way up 4.28 points to break for lunch at 34,479.11.
The S&P 500 index faded 10.28 points to 4,360.08.
The NASDAQ index plunged 85.42 to 13,231.51. All of the major averages were headed for a fourth consecutive day of losses.
The Dow is on pace for its worst week since March, lower by 2.6%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is headed for a third straight week of losses, a streak that hasn’t happened since February. The NASDAQ also set for a third consecutive losing week for the first time since December.
Keysight Technologies shares lost more than 10% on the back of a disappointing earnings report. Deere and Estee Lauder also fell more than 3% after announcing their earnings. Meta shares continued their decline for the week, falling more than 2% Friday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 4.23% from Thursday’s 4.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices latched onto three cents to $80.42 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gathered $6.80 to $1,922.00 U.S. an ounce.
