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 0.9667
Brazil real 0.3512
China renminbi 0.1916
Euro 1.5221
Hong Kong dollar 0.1664
India rupee 0.01904
Indonesia rupiah 0.000091
Japan yen 0.01177
Malaysia ringgit 0.3215
Mexico peso 0.07027
N.Z. dollar 0.8872
Norway krone 0.1595
Peruvian new sol 0.3994
Russia rouble 0.02079
Saudi riyal 0.3483
Singapore dollar 0.9590
South Africa rand 0.09896
South Korean won 0.001169
Sweden krona 0.1478
Switzerland franc 1.3130
Taiwanese dollar 0.04271
Thailand baht 0.03913
Turkey lira 0.2690
U.K. pound 1.7126
U.S. dollar 1.3062
Vietnam dong 0.000056
Financial highlights
Highlights at the close Friday at world financial market trading. Stocks:
S&P/TSX Composite Index – 16,393.95, down 61.78 points Dow – 25,451.06, down 76.01 points
S&P 500 – 2,818.82, down 18.62 points
Nasdaq – 7,737.42, down 114.76 points
Currencies:
Cdn – 76.56 cents US, up 0.02 of a cent
Pound – C$1.7126, down 0.35 of a cent
Euro – C$1.5221, down 0.21 of a cent
Euro – US$1.1653, down 0.13 of a cent
Oil futures:
US$68.69, down 92 cents (September contract)
Gold futures:
US$1,223.00 per oz., down $2.70 (August contract)
Canadian Fine Silver Handy and Harman: daily quote unavailable from source; office closed on Fridays ( Thursday: $21.047 oz., $676.66 kg.)
The markets today
Technology stocks and commodity prices brought Canada’s main stock index down Friday.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed off 61.78 points at 16,393.95. “There are not a lot of strengths in the market today,” said Michael Currie, vice-president and investment analyst at TD Wealth.
“In Toronto, the technology sector is getting particularly hard hit. Constellation Software missed its estimates and is down over eight per cent today and a couple of big names, like Shopify and BlackBerry, are also down today.” He said bright spots on the market were few but included transport firm TFI International, up on strong quarterly results. The Canadian dollar averaged 76.56 cents US, up 0.02 of a US cent from Thursday’s average value of 76.54 cents US, while the September crude contract fell 92 cents to US$68.69 per barrel and the September natural gas contract rose two cents to US$2.78 per mmBTU.
He suggested that unease related to trade tensions and the stalled North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations are beginning to lift, allowing more optimism about Canada.
A steep drop in Facebook pulled technology stocks lower on Wall Street, even as other sectors climbed in response to a report that the U.S. economy surged in the April-June quarter to an annual growth rate of 4.1 per cent, the fastest pace since 2014.