Equity markets in Canada’s biggest market carried their weakness into the end of the trading week, as tech and resource sectors fell hard Friday.
The TSX backslid 76.3 points to conclude Friday at 35,263.85. On the week, the index surrendered 41.4 points, or 0.11%.
The Canadian dollar hiked 0.14 cents to 71.37 cents U.S.
Technology stocks were among the biggest decliners on the TSX, with Celestica down $5.14, or 1.2%, to $421.82, Shopify off $2.53, or 1.4%, to $173.23, BlackBerry down 24 cents, 1.9%, to $12.60.
The materials sector fell 1.3%, led by a sharp decline of 18 cents, or 1.9%, to $9.51, in Trekor Metals, and Ivanhoe Mines sliding 17 cents, or 1.7%, to $9.81.
Elsewhere, Restaurant Brands International capsized $2.97, or 2.7%, to $105.92, while Magna International gave back $1.88, or 2%, to $92.95.
Earlier this month, ?the Trump administration said it will not ?renew the USMCA ?trade agreement, but that the pact would remain in effect until the issues were ?resolved or the agreement terminated.
On the economic slate, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported housing starts were down 6% from the previous month to a seasonally adjust annual rate of 239,000 units in June, compared to a downwardly revised 253,000 units in May and falling short of markets expectations of 258,000 units.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture exchange peeked ahead 52 points, to 854.89. The index slumped more than 57 points, or 5.6%, on the week.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, with information technology down 1.2%, while consumer discretionary and materials each faded 0.9%.
The three gainers were energy, up 1.4%, health-care, growing 1.2%, and utilities, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell again on Friday, with Wall Street on track for a weekly decline, as traders weighed the latest moves in semiconductors along with the latest quarterly reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 406.55 points to 52,605.08,
The much broader index lost 76.08 points, or 1%, to 7,457.69
The NASDAQ Composite slid 361.7 points, or 1.4%, to 25,520.24.
The major stock benchmarks are also down on the week, with the S&P 500 off by more than 1%, while the NASDAQ slipped more than 2%. The Dow has fallen nearly 1% on the week.
Those losses added to declines seen in the previous session, which were also led by semiconductors. Adding to that downbeat sentiment, Chinese startup Moonshot AI unveiled a new model that it says narrows the gap with the top offerings in the U.S.
Alongside chips, shares of Netflix were a major laggard Friday, falling more than 6% as the company’s forecast failed to ease investor concerns that growth is slowing.
The major stock benchmarks are also down week to date, with the S&P 500 off by nearly 2%, while the Dow has slipped more than 1% and while NASDAQ sank 3%.
Further escalations in the U.S.-Iran war also remained in focus, with oil prices rising in their wake. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were last trading above $81 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude futures were above $86.
Kuwait said on Friday that Iran attacked a power and water desalination plant, and U.S. Central Command said overnight that it had completed its sixth consecutive evening of strikes against Iran, hitting dozens of military targets, including logistics infrastructure and maritime capabilities.
Iranian officials also claimed on Friday to have targeted U.S. military forces in Syria and Bahrain, widening Tehran’s attacks further across the Middle East.
This comes as the fragile truce reached last month has fractured, once again disrupting energy flows through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles around 20% of the world’s oil traffic.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.55% from Thursday’s 4.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices jumped $3.22 to $82.17 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices surged $27.70 to $4.019.80 U.S. an ounce.
