Equities in Canada’s largest market fell at the open on Friday, with lower precious metal prices weighing on mining stocks, while growth-sensitive tech stocks fell after a higher-than-expected U.S. jobs number sparked fears of further interest rate hikes.
The TSX forfeited 16.81 points, to begin operation Friday at 20,723.63.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.58 cents at 74.52 cents U.S.
In earnings, methanol producer Methanex reported better-than-expected quarterly results overnight. Methanex shares popped $4.58, or 7.3%, to $67.40.
OpenText Corp also reported its quarterly numbers, beating expectations on both revenue and earnings. Shares in Open Text gained $1.99, or 4.5%, to $46.26.
On the research front, CIBC cut Lightspeed Commerce's rating to "neutral" from "outperform". Shares in Lightspeed shed 23 cents, or 1%, to $23.14.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 5.57 points to 625.11.
The 12 subgroups were evenly divided, as energy dived 3.2%, gold fell 2.9%, and materials doffed 2%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by information technology, up 1.9%, real-estate, improving 1.3%, and industrials, up 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks slid Friday as traders digested strong U.S. labor data, as well as several high-profile earnings misses.
The Dow Jones Industrials hesitated 10.98 points to open Friday at 34,042.96.
The S&P 500 hobbled 14.9 points to 4,164.86.
The NASDAQ Composite stepped back 49.21 points to 12,151.61.
At the same time, struggles of major tech stocks weighed on the market. Apple and Google-parent Alphabet both missed estimates on the top and bottom lines for their December quarters. Alphabet’s stock fell about 4%, while Apple shares dipped 0.8%. Amazon’s stock also declined more than 5% after the e-commerce giant’s report.
The earnings picture wasn’t much better outside of tech, as Ford and Starbucks also missed estimates. Those stocks fell more than 9% and 3%, respectively.
Regardless, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are on pace for a positive week. Recent signs of falling inflation and some well-received comments this week from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell helped offset losses from some earnings disappointments.
The NASDAQ Composite gained nearly 4% this week, riding a tech-fueled rally to outperform the other major indexes. It’s set for its fifth-straight winning week. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up more than 1%. However, the Dow was the notable outlier, slightly lower this week by 0.1%.
Investors absorbed a much-stronger-than-expected January jobs report. The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January, blowing past Dow Jones estimates of a jobs gain of 187,000 last month.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury staggered, lifting yields to 3.54% from Thursday’s 3.39%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked $2.04 to $77.92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slumped $39.60 to $1,891.20 U.S. an ounce.
