Financial and gold shares take a drop

TORONTO — Gold miners and large financial services companies dragged down Canada’s main stock index Friday as trading on Wall Street remained modest.

On Bay Street, the S&P/TSX composite index dropped 71.92 points to 15,490.49 with the materials sector being the biggest decliner on the commodity-heavy index.

In New York, markets were mixed. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19.93 points to 20,914.62, while the S&P 500 index inched down 3.13 points to 2,378.25. The Nasdaq composite index was barely changed from Thursday’s close, up 0.24 of a point to 5,901.00.

Portfolio manager Kash Pashootan said the markets are in a wait-and-see mode after a predictable week in which the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked its key short-term rate by a quarter-point to a range of 0.75 to one per cent on Wednesday.

The widely expected move was prompted by solid signs of a strengthening U.S. economy, as gauges on job growth, retail sales, consumer prices and housing builds have all come in higher than analysts had been expecting.

“If there’s one thing the market does not like, it’s surprise, and we haven’t had many surprises yet,” said Pashootan from First Avenue Advisory, a Raymond James company. “We have clear direction, all else being equal, of where the Fed is going with rates.”

In currencies, the Canadian dollar sat just below the 75-cent mark, up 0.06 of a cent at 74.98 cents US.

In other commodities, the April natural gas contract rose five cents at US$2.95 per mmBTU, April gold contract added $3.10 at US$1,230.20 an ounce and May copper gained a cent to US$2.69 a pound.