Stocks in Canada’s largest centre continued substantially Friday on U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to slap new tariffs on China over the coronavirus crisis, and as data showed Canadian manufacturing activity slumped to a record low in April.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index sagged 160.4 points, or 1.1%, to finish Friday and the week at 14,620.34. On the week, the index gained 200 points, or 1.39%.
The Canadian dollar slid half a cent to 71.15 cents U.S.
Trump said late on Thursday his trade deal with China was now of secondary importance to the pandemic, as his administration crafted retaliatory measures over the outbreak.
North of the border, Canada's top medical officer said the country's coronavirus curve is flat but worrying trends are emerging, particularly outbreaks in vulnerable indigenous communities.
The energy sector dropped, with Vermilion Energy down 56 cents, or 8.2%, to $6.29, while ShawCor Ltd. gave back 16 cents, or 7.8%, to $1.88.
Health-care stocks weren’t much help in driving the market higher, as Bausch Health Companies backpedaled $1.12, or 4.5%, to $24.03, while Canopy Growth lost 92 cents, or 4.1%, to $21.28.
Real-estate issues also dragged, with Collier’s International down $6.31, or 8.3%, to $70.08, while H&R REIT slid 50 cents, or 5.1%, to $9.36.
Gold stocks moved higher, though, with Alacer Gold sprinting 49 cents, or 6.9%, to $7.63, and Sandstorm Gold improving 56 cents, or 5.2%, to $5.09.
Pretium Resources, rose $1.23, or 11.6%, to $11.86, after it maintained its full-year production forecast. Elsewhere in materials, Wheaton Precious Metals shot higher $4.85, or 9.2%, to $57.74.
On the economic calendar, the Markit Purchasing Managers Index came out for April, and, at 33.0, the PMI was down sharply from 46.1 in March, to signal a rapid decline in manufacturing sector business conditions.
Elsewhere, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced the appointment of Tiff Macklem, a former senior deputy at the Bank of Canada, as its next governor.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nosed upward 1.35 points to 473.09, for a gain on the week of 10.5 points, or 2.26%.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative on the day, with energy slipping 4.3%, health-care retreating 3.6%, and real-estate off 2.6%.
The two stalwarts were in gold, up 4.3%, and materials, advancing 3.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks slumped on Friday as shares of Amazon led the major indexes lower on the month’s first day of trading. Concerns over a potential trade skirmish between China and the U.S. also dented sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed 622.03 points, or 2.6%, to 23,723.69, as Dow Inc and Exxon Mobil each fell more than 7%. Over the last five sessions, the Dow lost 51 points, or 0.22%,
The S&P 500 handed back 81.72 points, or 2.8%, to 2,830.71, with consumer staples and communications stocks leading the broad market index down. The S&P was in the red six points, or 0.21%.
The NASDAQ Composite shed 284.60 points, or 3.2%, to 8,604.95, as a host of big-tech names fell. The tech-heavy index dipped 29.5 points, or 0.34%, on the week.
Amazon led declining stocks on the week’s final day of trading with shares down 7.6% after announcing plans to spend all its second-quarter profits on its coronavirus response. The e-commerce behemoth also posted a first-quarter profit that missed analyst expectations.
Apple reported quarterly earnings that topped analyst expectations, but its revenue growth remained flat on a year-over-year basis. It also did not offer guidance for the quarter ending in June amid uncertainty over the coronavirus outbreak. The tech giant’s stock gained 1.6%.
Both Apple and Amazon are among the companies that led the S&P 500's comeback from the late-March lows and were two of the best performers in April. Amazon rallied nearly 27% in April while Apple jumped 15.3%.
Also weighing on sentiment was the possibility of another skirmish between China and the U.S. after White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said the Chinese will be held accountable for the coronavirus.
Wall Street was coming off its biggest monthly surge in over 30 years, with the S&P 500 gaining 12.7% while the Dow advanced 11.1%. It was the third-biggest monthly gain for the S&P 500 since World War II. The Dow had its fourth-largest post-war monthly rally and its best month in 33 years.
The NASDAQ closed 15.5% higher for April, logging in its biggest one-month gain since June 2000.
Stocks that would benefit most from that reopening jumped at the end of March, including Carnival Corp, losing 12.4%, MGM Resorts, down 10.8%, and Kohl’s, sinking 4.4%.
Hope for a potential treatment for the coronavirus has also helped the market make a comeback. Earlier in the week, Gilead Sciences said a study of its remdesivir drug conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases met its primary endpoint.
The number of new infections around the world has also fallen in recent weeks, leading some countries and U.S. states to slowly reopen their economies.
More than 3.2 million virus cases have been confirmed globally, according to Johns Hopkins University, with over one million infections in the U.S. alone.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained back lost strength, lowering yields to Thursday’s 0.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired 92 cents to $19.76 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $13.80 to $1,708.00 U.S. an ounce.
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