Toronto stocks dip as uncertainty trumps jobs boosts

Dow Jones industrials and S&P 500 finish ahead

TORONTO — Major North American indexes were mixed Friday as trade and stimulus uncertainties trumped strongerthan-expected jobs reports in Canada and the U.S.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 34.62 points to 16544.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average added 46.50 points to 27433.48. The S&P 500 index advanced 2.12 points to 3351.28 while the Nasdaq composite fell 97.09 points to 11010.98.

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.76 US compared with 75.23 on Thursday.

The September crude contract shed 73 cents to $41.22 US per barrel and the September natural gas contract gained seven cents to nearly $2.24 US per mmBTU.

The December gold contract plummeted $41.40 US to $2,028.00 US an ounce after a string of highs earlier this week, while the September copper contract fell nearly 12 cents to $2.79 US a pound.

Second Cup to close more stores and pilot gas station drive-thrus

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — The Second Cup Ltd. plans to close more stores, sell more of its product in grocery stores and open gas station drive-thrus as it looks to recover from the deep hit absorbed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mississauga, Ont.-based beverage company said a pilot program will see it open at three Petro-Canada locations in Ontario this year.

Second Cup said the retail sales will supplement its own e-commerce platform that launched in April as much of its coffee house network was forced to close.

It is also moving into “non-traditional” cafe locations such as hospitals, airports, train stations and other transportation venues, with 14 locations scheduled to open across Canada in the next 18 months.

Second Cup said its net loss surged to $1.93 million or eight cents per share in the second quarter, from a loss of $783,000 or four cents per share a year earlier.

Net revenue fell nearly 46 per cent to $3.5 million from $6.5 million in the previous year as system network sales decreased 68 per cent to $10.9 million from $34.4 million.

“With an increasing number of Canadians working from home, we know that the daily coffee experience is changing,” said Steven Pelton, CEO of Aegis, the new corporate name for Second Cup.

“People want to be able to have a premium Second Cup coffee experience in their own kitchens, and we are going to make that easier for them, with the return of Second Cup coffee products to retail banners across Canada.”

Same-store sales plunged 52.6 per cent compared with an 8.6 per cent decrease in the first quarter as all 19 Bridgehead coffeehouses in Ottawa and 130 of the 244 Second Cup locations across Canada closed in mid-March.