Markets in Toronto finished off a rough week in negative country Friday, as nearly all sectors contributed to the loss.
The TSX faded 91.58 points to close Friday at 25,442.91. Over the last five sessions, the loss amounted to just over 90 points, or 0.35%.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.08 cents at 69.97 cents U.S.
In corporate news, cloud services provider Converge Technology will be acquired by alternative investment firm H.I.G. Capital in a deal valued at $1.3 billion. Converge shares ended Friday’s session with a jump of $1.88, or 53.3%, to $5.41.
On the TSX, communications shares lost as much as 1.3%. BCE Inc was down $2.18, or 6.5% to $31.52. Telus dropped 38 cents, or 1.8%, to $20.52.
The fall came as shares of cannabis firm Canopy Growth sank $1.09, or 27.3% to $2.90, after posting a bigger third-quarter loss, triggering pot stocks Cronos Group to lose 12 cents, or 4.2%, to $2.76, and Tilray Brands to tumble nine cents, or 5.6%, to $1.44.
Rounding out the sector, Bausch Health Companies surrendered 14 cents, or 1.5%, to $9.23.
The tech sector also took its lumps, as Open Text Corporation handed over $2.29, or 5.4%, to $39.97, while shares in Kinaxis dumped $5.52, or 3.2%, to $165.53.
The lone bright spot appeared in the energy sector, where Arc Resources soared $1.45, or 5.9%, to $26.08, while Terravest Capital grabbed $5.17, or 4%m to $134.19.
Statistics Canada reported this morning employment increased by 76,000 (+0.4%) in January and the unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.6%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dished off 0.23 points to 639.28. On the week, however, index gained more than 15.5 points, or nearly 2.5%.
All but one of the 12 subgroups lost ground midday, weighed most by health-care, down 2.4%, communications, down 1.5%, and information technology, lower by 1.4%.
Only energy held out against the negative tide, gaining 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks moved lower on Friday as a mix of news related to tariffs and inflation worried traders to close out the week.
Major benchmarks took a leg lower during the session after President Donald Trump said he was planning reciprocal tariffs on trading partners. This could mean raising tariff levels across the board to equal rates charged the U.S.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 444.23 points, or nearly 1%, to 44,303.40.
The S&P 500 dumped 57.58 points, or nearly 1%, to 6,025.99
The tech-heavy NASDAQ tumbled 268.59 points, or 1.4%, to 19,523.40
Amazon lost 4% after guidance from the e-commerce giant disappointed investors. The company called for revenue growth of 5% to 9% in the first quarter — its weakest growth on record. The outlook overshadowed top- and bottom-line beats in the fourth quarter. Alphabet continued to fall following somewhat disappointing results earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, January’s jobs report released Friday showed 143,000 jobs were added for the month, but traders were concentrating on other parts of the report. The unemployment rate actually fell to 4% from 4.1%, and December’s and November’s jobs figures were revised up significantly. Average hourly earnings for January were also higher than expected, raising inflation fears.
Consumer sentiment fell in February to 67.8, according to a preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected 71.3.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury eased a bit, raising yields to 4.49% from Thursday’s 4.44%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices surged 41 cents to $71.02 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold gained $10.70 an ounce to $2,887.10 U.S.
