TSX Down on Friday, Gains on Week
Equities in Canada’s largest centre featured losses Friday, as health-care and consumer stocks moved south.
The TSX Composite Index sank 72.92 points by Friday’s close to end the week at 27,314.01. Over the last five sessions, the index gained 291 points, or 1.1%.
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 72.84 cents U.S.
Declines on the day were contributed to by industrial shares falling, with Air Canada dropping 54 cents, or 2.5%, to $20.97,
Canadian Pacific Kansas City retreated $3.94, or 3.6%, to $106.35, and Canadian National Railway dropped $3.39, or 2.4% to $136.51.
Health-care also sat heavily with Bausch Health Companies sagging 25 cents, or 2.8%, to $8.66, while Chartwell Retirement Residences docked 23 cents, or 1.3%, to $18.00
In consumer stocks, Magna International slid $1.83. or 3.1%, to $56.74, while BRP Inc. let go of $1.49, or 2.2%, to $66.13.
On the flip side, utility stocks rose, boosted by Capital Power, up $1.36, or 2.3%, to $60.48, and Transalta Corp shares adding 39 cents, or 2.4%, to $17.02.
Energy stocks climbed, with Headwater Exploration better by 26 cents, or 3.8%, to $7.15, and Parex Resources adding 31 cents, or 2.2%, to $14.66.
Among individual stocks, Transalta Corp rose 43 cents, to 2.6%, to $17.01. after brokerage Scotiabank upgraded its rating.
International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu pointed to interest in advancing trade talks with the South American bloc Mercosur, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, as Ottawa seeks to diversify its trade relations beyond the U.S.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and his team are in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump to reach a trade agreement before the August 1 deadline, when 35% tariffs are set to take effect.
In other trade-related news, Canada and New Zealand reached a "mutually satisfactory" resolution to a long-term dispute over dairy product access, which will allow for better access to the Canadian market, Ottawa said on Thursday.
Trump has previously criticized high Canadian tariffs on dairy products.
Earlier this week, Carney introduced a steel tariff rate quota in a bid to protect the domestic steel industry. China's Commerce Ministry urged
Ottawa on Friday to drop the restrictions while threatening countermeasures.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.09 points to 797.75, for a gain on the week of 13 points, or 1.67%.
Nine of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, with telecoms off 1.3%, industrials descending 1.1%, and consumer discretionary stocks down 0.8%.
The three gainers were consumer staples, better 0.8%, while utilities acquired 0.4%, and energy, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid Friday after President Donald Trump reportedly pushed for greater tariffs on the European Union.
The 30-stock index stumbled 142.3 points to finish off the week at 44,342.19
The much-broader index hesitated 0.57 points to 6,296.79.
The NASDAQ Composite edged ahead 10.01 points to 20,895.66.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and the NASDAQ poked ahead 1.4%, on the week. The Dow was slightly lower on the week.
Trump is demanding a minimum tariff of between 15% and 20% in any deal with the EU, the Financial Times reported, citing three people briefed on the talks. The EU is attempting to reach a trade deal with the U.S. ahead of Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline, when Trump has vowed to begin implementing 30% tariffs on the bloc.
Data released Friday reflected a drop in consumers’ fears about tariff-induced inflation down to their lowest levels since February. The University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers for July reflected overall consumer sentiment rose 1.8% from June to 61.8, coming out exactly in line with the estimate and at the highest level since February.
Major U.S. stock indexes are heading towards a winning week, lifted by data releases pointing to a strong U.S. economy and a slew of better-than-expected corporate earnings results. The S&P 500 is up 0.8% this week, while the NASDAQ has moved up 1.8%, and Dow has advanced 0.2%.
On the earnings front, shares of Netflix slid 4%, despite posting an bottom-line beat on Thursday. Shares of 3M were also down slightly even after the company exceeded analysts’ estimates on top and bottom lines.
With 12% of S&P 500 companies reporting results so far, 83% have beaten estimates. On Thursday, PepsiCo and United Airlines shares both popped after the respective companies beat analyst estimates on earnings. Those follow solid results from big banks like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs earlier in the week.
Prices for the 10-year treasury climbed, pushing yields down to 4.42% from Thursday’s 4.46%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 18 cents to $67.36 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices advanced nine dollars to $3,351.30 U.S. an ounce.
