Canada’s main stock index was lower shortly after the open on Friday, as key sectors like energy and financials gave back some of the previous session's gains.
The S&P/TSX composite index retreated 7.17 points to open the final session of a short week at 15,196.44
The Canadian dollar slumped 0.56 cents to 81.40 cents U.S.
The largest group of shareholders in Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp says it’s "extremely disappointed" in a $6.50-per-share takeover bid from Alfa SAB de CV and Harbour Energy Ltd, and will vote against the deal. Rubiales shares hesitated six cents to $6.23.
BlackBerry Ltd said it plans to buy back 12 million shares, sending its stock up nearly 2% in extended trading in the United States on Thursday. The company formerly known as Research In Motion saw its shares take on 26 cents Friday, or 2.1%, to $12.80.
Hootsuite, a provider of software to manage social media on a global scale and one of Canada's most valuable tech startups, hinted on Thursday that it may move up its timeline on an initial public offering in light of the success of fellow Canadian startup Shopify, whose shares galloped Friday morning $2.39, or 7.7%, to $33.64.
Paradigm Capital raised the target price on ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. to $19.00 from $14.25; rating to buy from hold. ATS shares gained 46 cents, or 3.2%, to $14.96.
Raymond James raised the target price on Canam Group Inc. to $18.00 from $16.00, with an outperform rating. Canam gained 29 cents, or 2%, to $14.72.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said retail trade rose for the second consecutive month in March, advancing 0.7% to $42.5 billion.
The agency adds, despite these increases, retail sales remained below their historical peak recorded in last November. Sales in March were up in seven of 11 sub-sectors, representing 71% of retail trade.
Elsewhere on the economic front, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.8% in the 12 months to April, after increasing 1.2% in March. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail inflation decreased 0.1% in April, following a 0.3% rise in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 0.64 points to 701.15
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were moving upwards in the first hour of trading, led by health-care and global base metals, each improving 0.5%, while information technology surged 0.4%
The five laggards were weighed by consumer staples, up 0.8%, while financials and energy each cooled 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded narrowly mixed on Friday as investors digested a strong core inflation figure ahead of Fed Chair Janet Yellen's afternoon speech.
The Dow Jones Industrials swooned 20.02 points early Friday to 18,265.72, with UnitedHealth leading laggards and American Express and Apple the greatest advancers.
The S&P 500 index slid 0.60 points to 2,130.22, with energy the greatest of seven declining sectors and consumer discretionary leading three sectors higher.
The NASDAQ gained 9.53 points to 5,100.32,
Trading volumes are expected to be lighter than usual ahead of the three-day Memorial Day weekend, but investors will focus on Yellen's 1 p.m. ET speech on the economy to the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce.
Earnings out on Friday included Campbell Soup, Deere, Foot Locker before market open.
Lions Gate Entertainment came in seven cents above estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 39 cents U.S. per share, but revenue fell considerably below analyst forecasts.
BlackBerry will buy back about 2.6% of its outstanding shares, to negate potential negative effects of a proposed employee stock purchase plan.
Hewlett-Packard reported adjusted quarterly profit if 87 cents U.S. per share, two cents above estimates, though revenue was slightly shy of forecasts. The company also issued weaker-than-expected current quarter guidance. Investors are taking note of a positive development—lower-than-expected expenses for the separation of its personal computer and printer businesses into a separate company.
Deere & Co. earned $2.03 U.S. per share for its latest quarter, beating estimates of $1.55 U.S. despite a slight revenue shortfall. Deere noted a weak global agricultural sector, but said good execution aided its bottom line.
The U.S. Labor Department said on Friday its Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.1% last month, with the core figure discounting food and energy costs up 0.3%, for the largest gain since January 2013.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI edging up 0.1% from March and dipping 0.1% from a year ago.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries lost ground, lifting yields slightly to 2.22% from Thursday’s 2.20%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 79 cents a barrel to $59.93 U.S.
Gold prices lopped off 60 cents to $1,203.50 U.S. an ounce.
