Equities in Canada’s busiest market was still feeling around for the bruises as the week limped to an end, as industrial and energy losses overcame gains in metal and resource stocks.
The TSX declined 151.29 points to end Friday at 19,387.72, for a loss on the week of 387 points, or 1.96%
The Canadian dollar edged lower 0.08 cents to 72.79 cents U.S.
Among industrial stocks which headed lower, TFI International subsided $4.83, or 2.9%, to $159.20, while Canadian Pacific lost $3.04, or 2.8%, to $106.36.
Energy stocks wavered, too, with Athabasca Oil falling 18 cents, or 6.1%, to $2.78, while Precision Drilling faltered $3.95, or 6%, to $62.09.
Financials lost ground, with Power Corporation of Canada ditching $1.40, or 4%, to $33.84, while National Bank slipped $3.17, or 3.3%, to $93.91.
Gold put up a good fight, with Torex Gold jumping $1.89, or 10%, to $20.80, while Wesdome Gold captured 60 cents, or 9%, to $20.80.
In materials, Fortuna Silver Mines jumped 30 cents, or 6.8%, to $4.72, while K92 Mining took on 53 cents, or 7.1%, to $8.04,
In communications, Rogers gathered 49 cents to $61.49, while Shaw gained 15 cents to $39.26.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada said its Raw Materials Price Index decreased 0.4% in February and fell 5.2% compared with the same month in 2022. The Industrial Product Price Index declined 0.8% month over month in February and rose 1.4% year over year.
Moreover, the agency said, Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $16.2 billion in January, the largest divestment since March 2022. Meanwhile, non-residents acquired $4.2 billion of Canadian securities in January, down considerably from a $21.2 billion investment in December 2022.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched up 2.88 points to 605.08, for a loss on the week of seven points, or 1.1%.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups went south Friday, as industrials weakened 1.8%, energy turned 1.7% lower, and financials were poorer 1.6%.
The three gainers proved to be gold, sprinting 5.7%, materials, ahead 3.5%, and communications, up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell Friday as investors pulled back from positions in First Republic and other bank shares amid lingering concerns over the state of the U.S. banking sector.
The Dow Jones Industrials forfeited 388.13 points, or 1.2%, to 31,858.42.
The S&P 500 dropped 43.6 points, or 1.1%, to 3,916.68.
The NASDAQ Composite gave up 86.76 points to 11,630.51.
First Republic slid 33% to end the week down 71%. The stock got a boost Thursday when a group of banks said it would aid First Republic with $30 billion in deposits as a sign of confidence in the banking system.
U.S.-listed shares of Credit Suisse were also down 8% as traders parsed through the bank’s announcement that it would borrow up to 50 billion francs, or nearly $54 billion, from the Swiss National Bank.
Despite the down session, the S&P 500 has advanced 1.2% so far this week, while the NASDAQ Composite gained 4.1%. But Friday’s slide pulled the Dow into negative territory for the week, last down 0.4%.
Bank stocks have been closely followed by investors in recent days amid fears that others could face the same fate as Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which were both closed within the last week. The market has been responding to the latest developments in the sector after regulators said over the weekend that they would backstop deposits in the two banks.
The shakeup arrives at a time when investors are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting on March 21-22. The question on the minds of traders is whether the central bank will proceed with an expected 25-basis-point hike even as banking woes whiplash the market.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sprang, lowering yields to 3.42% from Thursday’s 3.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices docked $2.17 to $66.18 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices leaped $58.40 to $1,981.40 U.S. an ounce.
