TSX, loonie edge down as oil, gold prices slide

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index closed lower Friday despite morning gains as key commodity prices slid, while U.S. markets climbed on positive economic data.

Energy stocks especially weighed on the TSX as crude prices retreated again. The July crude contract closed down $1.23 at $65.81 US per barrel.

“Canada is underperforming the U.S. a little bit, and part of that can be attributed to this welcome pullback in crude oil,” said Jamie Robertson, senior portfolio manager at Manulife Asset Management.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 17.96 points at 16043.54 as both oil and gold stocks weighed on the index.

The August gold contract closed down $5.40 at $1,299.30 US an ounce.

The retreat in oil comes after a steady rise has prompted more supply output from the U.S. and talk of increased production from Russia and OPEC, while gold continues to be less favoured as long as the U.S. dollar stays firm, Robertson said.

Stocks were largely unmoved despite a sharp escalation in trade tensions Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was going ahead with tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum production and the Canadian government announced $16.6 billion in retaliatory tariffs.

The development didn’t make for any major immediate impacts on markets, but will draw out trade uncertainties, Robertson said.

“This is a story that’s going to take a while to play out. I think we had hopes of a nice tidy wrap-up of NAFTA, and didn’t get it — and these are all just, from our perspective, ongoing negotiating tactics.”

The Canadian dollar slid 0.09 of a U.S. cent to average 77.14 cents US, adding to the 0.31 of a U.S. cent it lost Thursday on the tariff news.

The slight retreat in Canadian markets Friday contrasted with strong gains in the U.S. as an excellent jobs report and encouraging construction statistics helped push up the markets, Robertson said.

U.S. employers added 223,000 jobs last month, more than economists expected and a pickup from April’s hiring rate of 159,000. Wages for workers also accelerated, with pay up 2.7 per cent from a year ago. That’s a bit faster than April’s 2.6 per cent wage growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 219.37 points at 24635.21. The S&P 500 index ended up 29.35 points at 2734.62 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 112.21 points at 7554.33.

In other commodities, the July natural gas contract ended up one cent at $2.96 US per mmBTU and the July copper contract was up three cents at $3.10 US a pound.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. saw its share price shoot up $17.14 or 16.32 per cent on the Nasdaq to close at $122.19 US after the Vancouver-based clothing retailer posted better-than-expected results and revised up its forecast for the year.

New vehicle sales stall

TORONTO — DesRosiers Automotive Consultants reported Friday that sales of new light vehicles in Canada fell in May compared with the same month last year, the third month in a row to post a yearover-year decline.

A total of 215,407 vehicles were sold, down 0.7 per cent from the May 2017 total of 216,861, but well ahead of 191,900 in April.

It said Canada’s year-to-date total of 836,522 new vehicles sold is still almost 1,000 units above the previous year thanks to an abnormally strong January.

However, the consulting group based in Richmond Hill, Ont., said the gap won’t last if the pattern of market declines continue into the summer months