Toronto stocks closed moderately lower on Friday, hit by weak commodity prices and domestic jobs data that made investors worry if interest rates would fall as early as they had hoped.
The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index closed down 59.11 points, or 0.5 percent, at 11,690.89. All of the TSX index's 10 main groups were lower. "It's been a choppy week but I think we've done well so far to end the week only marginally down," said Elvis Picardo, chief market strategist at Global Securities Corp in Vancouver.
The TSX finished lower in two of the past five sessions. The roller-coaster week included a 261-point plunge on Tuesday, as the index dipped and rallied along with the price of crude. For the week, the index was down 0.6 percent.
The heavyweight energy sector fell 0.4 percent on Friday due to lower crude prices, as Opec's plan to cut production was met with scepticism. In New York, November crude slid 27 cents to $59.76 a barrel. EnCana Corp fell 43 Canadian cents, or 0.8 percent, to C$51.27, suffering a hangover after Thursday's gains on its announcement of a partnership with ConocoPhillips to refine oil sands heavy crude.
Imperial Oil was down 71 Canadian cents, or 1.9 percent, at C$36.11. The financial sector, which accounts for about 30 percent of the index, fell 0.4 percent after jobs data made analysts question whether interest rates would fall as soon as they had thought. Statistics Canada reported 16,200 additional jobs in September, slightly above expectations.
In the United States, 51,000 jobs were added in September, far below what the Street had expected. "Today there's been a lot of attention focused on the jobs data in both the US and Canada," said Picardo. "The numbers were on the weak side but they were strong enough to cause people to reassess their assumptions."
Manulife Financial slipped 30 Canadian cents, or 0.8 percent, to C$36.00, while Bank of Nova Scotia lost 39 Canadian cents, or 0.8 percent, to C$48.20. "We're not seeing a lot of consistency in the marketplace," said Irwin Michael, portfolio manager at ABC Funds.
"There's still a lot of nervousness in the market - volatility - and as a result we're seeing continued indecision, people not knowing which way to go." In corporate news, Bombardier Inc dropped almost 5 percent after news that it would split a large jet order with its Brazilian rival Embraer SA. Bombardier was down 18 Canadian cents, or 4.7 percent, at C$3.69.
Market volume was 266 million shares worth C$5 billion. Decliners outpaced advancers 810 to 627. The blue chip S&P/TSX 60 index closed 3.87 points lower, or 0.6 percent, at 670.61.
In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average ended its three-day, record-setting run as worries over an economic slowdown were revived by the unemployment data. The Dow was down 16.48 points, or 0.14 percent, at 11,850.21. The Nasdaq composite index was down 6.35 points, or 0.28 percent, at 2,299.99.
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