A Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) logo is seen in Toronto in this file photo.© Mark Blinch / Reuters
Canada's main stock index slipped in early trade on Friday, with financial and energy stocks pulling back as bond yields and oil prices retreated.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 5.75 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 16,176.88 shortly after the open. It is on track for a 0.8-per-cent gain on the week, its sharpest weekly gain since late September
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Friday after domestic data surprisingly showed economic growth paused in October, muting expectations the central bank might hike rates in January.
The weaker-than-expected gross domestic product data came a day after robust inflation and retail sales data sent the loonie and domestic bond yields sharply higher.
The currency's retreat also came as prices for oil, a major Canadian export, slipped.
The Canadian dollar was trading at $1.2769 to the greenback, or 78.31 U.S. cents, down 0.2 per cent. It had hit its strongest level in more than two weeks on Thursday.
The currency is on track for a 0.8-per-cent rise on the week.
Canadian government bond prices were mixed across a steeper maturity curve, with the two-year price up 3 Canadian cents to yield 1.662 per cent and the 20-year down 5 cents to yield 2.212 per cent.
The benchmark 10-year rose 5 Canadian cents to yield 2.024 per cent.
Wall Street opened little changed on Friday, with gains in financial stocks offsetting losses in Nike and technology shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.44 points to 24,781.85. The S&P 500 gained 0.6 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 2,685.17. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 6.63 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 6,958.73.
The week's highlight was a historic overhaul of the U.S. tax code, which is expected to benefit corporates due to a significant cut in the amount levied on businesses, hopes of which have sparked a rally in shares this year.
Investors were also relieved after the U.S. Congress averted a government shutdown on Thursday just one day before federal funding was due to expire.
"We're in a bullish phase and investors have things to feel good about - a strong economy as witnessed by a 3.2-per-cent growth in GDP, a tax plan that is all but signed," said Andres Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC in Bernardsville, NJ.
"The tax plan will add more credibility to the Republican government and will be used as a leverage to get more things done."
Wall Street's main indexes rose on Thursday, boosted by bank and oil stocks after data showed the U.S. economy grew in the third quarter at its fastest pace in more than two years.
A report on Friday showed U.S. consumer spending accelerated in November amid an increase in demand for recreational goods and utilities.
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy, rose 0.1 percent in November and lifted the annualized core PCE to 1.5 per cent from 1.4 per cent reported in October.
Wildly volatile bitcoin plunged below $13,000, losing around a third of its market value in five days. The cryptocurrency was last trading at $12,544 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange.
Nike dipped about 4 per cent to $61.97 after the company forecast muted current-quarter revenue growth, highlighting its struggles to regain market share in North America from a resurgent Adidas.