TSX Struggles by Noon
The TSX Composite slumped 62.73 points to move into noon hour EST Friday at 21,056.48.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.43 cents at 74.29 cents U.S.
In corporate news, OpenText slid $2.04, or 3.5%, to $57.00, after the company reported its fourth-quarter results on Thursday after the bell.
Imperial Oil climbed $2.16, or 2.8% to $78.77 after its fourth-quarter results.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 1.71 points midday at 559.42.
All but two of the 12 subgroups remained in the red, with gold fading 3.9%, materials off 2.5%, and communications down 1.7%.
The two gainers proved to be information technology, up 1.6%, and industrials, nicking up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ was higher on Friday as quarterly results from technology companies including Facebook-parent Meta buoyed the sector after a stronger-than expected jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials came out of the shadows to gain 69.93 points to 38,589.77.
The S&P 500 index moved higher 47.35 points to 4,953,54.
The NASDAQ index popped 235.06 points to 15,477.65.
Shares of Meta popped above 20% after the social-media giant defied analysts’ expectations. The Facebook-parent also announced it will pay a quarterly dividend for the first time, and it authorized a $50-billion share buyback program. Amazon shares jumped 7% on fourth-quarter beats. However, Apple slid 1% after the company posted a decline in sales in China during the fiscal first quarter.
The rise in tech stocks helped shift investor focus from a scorching jobs report earlier on Friday. The government reported the U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January, well above the Dow Jones estimate of 185,000.
The moves follow a rebound session on Wall Street. The major averages gained around 1% each, a day after selling off on the back of the Federal Reserve signaling that a March rate cut was unlikely.
The report also included inflationary data in the form of greater-than-expected wage growth. Wages expanded by 4.5% year over year, more than a 4.1% forecast. This comes after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled this week that a March rate cut was unlikely.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury faded, hiking yields to 4.05% from Thursday’s 3.88%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $1.44 to $72.38 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices handed back $19.00 to $2,052.10.
Provided Content: Content provided by Baystreet. The Globe and Mail was not involved, and material was not reviewed prior to publication.
