MONEY IN BRIEF

Currencies

These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Friday. Quotations in Canadian funds.

Australia dollar Brazil real China renminbi Euro

Hong Kong dollar India rupee Indonesia rupiah Japan yen Malaysia ringgit Mexico peso N.Z. dollar Norway krone Peruvian new sol Russia rouble Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa rand South Korean won Sweden krona Switzerland franc Taiwanese dollar Thailand baht Turkey lira

U.K. pound

U.S. dollar Vietnam dong

0.9834 0.3851 0.1965 1.5420 0.1583 0.01931 0.000092 0.01123 0.3185 0.06684 0.9056 0.1604 0.3848 0.02195 0.3301 0.9393 0.10280 0.001138 0.1568 1.3294 0.04221 0.03938 0.3290 1.7511 1.2380 0.000055

Financial highlights

Highlights at the close Friday at world financial market trading. Stocks:

S&P/TSX Composite Index – 15,606.03, down 254.89 points Dow – 25,520.96, down 665.75 points

S&P 500 – 2,762.13, down 59.85 points

Nasdaq – 7,240.95, down 144.91 points

Currencies:

Cdn – 80.78 cents US, down 0.60 of a cent

Pound – C$1.7511, up 0.14 of a cent

Euro – C$1.5420, up 0.89 of a cent Euro – US$1.2456, down 0.20 of a cent

Oil futures:

US$65.45, down 35 cents (March contract)

Gold futures:

US$1,337.30 per oz., down $10.60 (April contract)

Canadian Fine Silver Handy and Harman: daily quote unavailable from source; office closed on Fridays ( Thursday: $21.996 oz., $707.17 kg.)

The markets today

TORONTO (CP) — Canada’s main stock index plummeted more than 250 points Friday, down

4 per cent over the past week, in a broad-based decline that included drops in every sector. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 254.89 points to 15,606.03 today. The last such drop was more than seven months ago when it lost about 269 points on May 17, 2017.

While all sectors finished Friday in the red, shares in health care saw the steepest losses of an average 6.18 per cent.

Cannabis stocks led the decline in the sector, with Canopy Growth Corp. dropping $3.44 or 12.49 per cent to $24.11, while Aphria Inc. shares fell $1.60 or 10.34 per cent to $13.88. Both were among the top three worst performing shares on the TSX Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 665.75 points to 25,520.96. The S&P 500 index lost 59.85 points to 2,762.13 and the Nasdaq composite index slipped 144.91 points to 7,240.95. In currency markets, the Canadian dollar closed at an average trading value of 80.78 cents US, down 0.60 of a U.S. cent.

The March crude contract fell 35 cents to US$65.45 per barrel and the March natural gas contract slipped by a penny to roughly US$2.85 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract dropped US$10.60 to US$1,337.30 an ounce and the March copper contract lost about 2.2 cents to roughly US$3.19 a pound.