Market Moves lower over spain worries
The Toronto stock market ended the session lower Friday as concern about Spain’s debt and disappointing economic data out of the United States kept traders cautious.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved down 21.39 points to 12,317.46, while the TSX Venture Exchange crept up 12.20 points to 1,334.51.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.24 of a cent to US101.71¢.
A report from the U.S. Commerce Department showed that Americans spent more in August even though their incomes barely grew. But the spending increase was driven by higher gasoline prices.
Investors also remained cautious about Spain, a day after the country’s government announced big spending cuts it hopes will convince potential bailout creditors and investors that it has a rocksolid plan to heal its public finances.
Moody’s, the credit rating agency, is also expected to weigh in on Spain’s creditworthiness. There are concerns the government’s rating will be cut to “junk” status.
Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reported that the economy grew by 0.2% in July, after a downwardly revised 0.1% increase in June. The July figure was better than the 0.1% expected by analysts.
This trading session also marks the end of the quarter, which can lead to some volatile trading as investors buy and sell large amounts of stock.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials backed off 48.84 points to 13,437.13. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 20.37 points to 3,116.23 and the S&P 500 index was off 6.48 points to 1,440.67.
On the TSX, the information technology sector was the sole gainer, rising 2.3%, after a surprising financial report from BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion.
Shares of RIM gained 8.1%, or 56¢, to $7.52. The technology company said after markets closed Thursday that its quarterly loss was US$235 million or 45¢ per diluted share. On an adjusted basis, the loss was $142 million or 27¢ per share, which was much better than the 47¢ per share loss expected by analysts polled by Bloomberg.
The company’s stock, once a major influencer on the TSX, has lost much of its clout on the market as its share price eroded.
Energy stocks were also lower, down 0.5%, while November crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved up 34¢ to settle at US$92.19 a barrel. Crude picked up about 7% of its value in the quarter.
December gold bullion decreased $6.60 to US$1,773.90 an ounce. The price of gold has risen about 11% since the start of the quarter. December copper was up 1.4¢ at US$3.76 a pound.