Canada's main stock index decreased on Friday as investors assessed mixed signals on U.S. and China tariff talks, despite signs of potential flexibility from Beijing, while also digesting a domestic retail sales report.
The TSX Composite Index lost 100.69 points by noon EDT to sit at 24,626.84. On the week, the index has gained 434 points, or 1.8%.
The Canadian dollar was flat at 72.17 cents U.S.
Tech stocks gained as e-commerce giant Shopify advanced $3.60, or 2.7%, to $135.27.
U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration is talking with China to strike a tariff deal and that Chinese President Xi Jinping has called him, according to a Time magazine interview published on Friday as Beijing continues to dispute U.S. characterization of talks.
Trump further stated in the interview that he would consider it a victory if the United States maintained 50% tariffs on foreign imports a year from now.
On the economic agenda, Statistics Canada reports retail sales decreased 0.4% to $69.3 billion in February. Sales were down in four of nine subsectors and were led by decreases at motor vehicle and parts dealers.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange ditched 2.14 points to 648.21. The index has gained 14 points on the week, or 2.27%.
Eight of the 12 subgroups lost ground midday, with gold dulling in price 2.2%, telecoms off 2%, and materials, trailing 1.4%.
The four gainers were led by information technology, struggling upward 0.4%, while real-estate and utilities nudged ahead 0.04% each.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 was little changed on Friday following a three-day winning streak on Wall Street as investors weigh earnings from a major tech company and lingering trade fears.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its lows of the morning, but remained negative 150.19 points to 39,943.21
The much-broader index squeezed ahead 4.86 points, to 5,489.63.
The NASDAQ Composite recovered 57.7 points to 17,223.74
The moves come after what has been a solid weekly performance for the market. The S&P 500 has taken on 3.8% and the NASDAQ is up 5.4% this week. The Dow has climbed 2%.
Alphabet jumped 3% after the Google-parent and “Magnificent Seven” name reported a beat on the top and the bottom line for the first quarter. By contrast, Intel fell 7% after offering disappointing guidance and revealing that it plans to slash operational and capital expenses.
Sentiment was hurt a bit Friday after comments from President Donald Trump were published by Time magazine. The president said he would consider it a “total victory” if the U.S. has high tariffs of 20% to 50% on foreign countries a year from now. Trump also denied that rising yields forced his hand in granting a 90-day pause on most of the higher tariff rates.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground Friday, lowering yields to 4.26% from Thursday’s 4.31%. Treasury prices and yields in opposite directions.
Oil prices reversed direction and gained 12 cents to $62.91 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold stumbled $55.20 to $3,23.40 U.S.
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