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Stocks Rumble Lower to Start May
Equities in Canada’s biggest centre opened lower on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to slap new tariffs on China over the coronavirus crisis weighed on sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dumped 202.88 points, or 1.4%, to start the month of May, and begin the process of winding up a volatile week at 14,577.86.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.34 cents to 71.30 cents U.S.
Restaurant Brands International posted an over 26%-jump in first-quarter comparable sales at Popeyes on Friday, but said that sales at its breakfast and coffee chain Tim Hortons were hit due to coronavirus-led restrictions.
Restaurant Brands faded 77 cents, or 1.1%, to $67.13.
Barrick Gold said on Friday it welcomed a court ruling ordering the Papua New Guinea government to negotiate over a lease extension for the Porgera gold mine. Shares in the world’s largest gold miner took on 83 cents, or 2.3%, to $36.66
RBC raised the target price on Altagas to $19.00 from $13.00. Altagas dipped 62 cents, or 3.7%, to $16.02.
CIBC cut the target price Canadian Tire Corporation to $130.00 from $134.00. Canadian Tire dropped $3.14, or 3.2%, to $94.53.
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on Great-West Lifeco to $24.00 from $35.00. Great-West skidded 70 cents, or 3.1%, to $22.22.
On the economic calendar, the Markit Purchasing Managers Index came out for April, and, at 33.0, the PMI was down sharply from 46.1 in March, to signal a rapid decline in manufacturing sector business conditions.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 3.77 points to 467.97.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative in the first hour, with real-estate retreating 3%, financials down 2.6%, and health-care off 2.5%.
The two stalwarts were in gold, up 1.8%, and materials, advancing 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks slumped on Friday as shares of Amazon led the major indexes lower on the month’s first day of trading following its first-quarter results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 432.86 points, or 1.8%, to 23,912.86, as Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth each fell more than 2.8%.
The S&P 500 slipped 55.24 points, or 1.9%, to 2,857.19, with consumer discretionary and energy stocks leading the broad market index down.
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The NASDAQ Composite shed 162.43 points, or 1.8%, to 8,727.12, as a host of big-tech names fell in morning trading.
Amazon saw its shares tumble 5.5% after announcing plans to spend all its second-quarter profits on its coronavirus response. The e-commerce behemoth also posted a first-quarter profit that missed analyst expectations.
Apple reported quarterly earnings that topped analyst expectations, but its revenue growth remained flat on a year-over-year basis. It also did not offer guidance for the quarter ending in June amid uncertainty over the coronavirus outbreak. The tech giant’s stock gained 1.3%.
Both Apple and Amazon are among the companies that led the S&P 500's comeback from the late-March lows and were two of the best performers in April. Amazon rallied nearly 27% in April while Apple jumped 15.3%.
Wall Street was coming off its biggest monthly surge in over 30 years, with the S&P 500 gaining 12.7% while the Dow advanced 11.1%. It was the third-biggest monthly gain for the S&P 500 since World War II. The Dow had its fourth-largest post-war monthly rally and its best month in 33 years.
The NASDAQ closed 15.5% higher for April, logging in its biggest one-month gain since June 2000.
Stocks that would benefit most from that reopening jumped at the end of March, including Carnival Corp, MGM Resorts and Kohl’s. However, those shares all fell Friday, Carnival down 4%, MGM off 6% and Kohl's fading 1.1%.
Hope for a potential treatment for the coronavirus has also helped the market make a comeback. Earlier in the week, Gilead Sciences said a study of its remdesivir drug conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases met its primary endpoint.
The number of new infections around the world has also fallen in recent weeks, leading some countries and U.S. states to slowly reopen their economies.
More than 3.2 million virus cases have been confirmed globally, according to Johns Hopkins University, with over one million infections in the U.S. alone.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury eased, raising yields to 0.64% from Thursday’s 0.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired 53 cents to $19.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank 50 cents to $1,693.70 U.S. an ounce.
