The TSX finished in the red Friday, despite something of a recovery in energy stocks amid rising oil prices .
The S&P/TSX composite index surrendered 92.91 points to finish the day, week and month at 15,014.09, though off its lows of the day.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.03 cents to 80.40 cents U.S.
Metals dropped much of their strength as copper prices slide 1.3%. Taseko Mines seemed the worst off, tumbling six cents, or 7%, to close at 80 cents, while Capstone Mining capsized six cents or 4.7%, to $1.22.
Financials, home to the six biggest Canadian lenders, reduced its midday loss with Bank of Nova Scotia adding 83 cents, or 1.3% to $65.40.
Real-estate shares took some heat, though, as Allied Properties REIT units dipped 90 cents, or 2.4%, to $36.28.
Info tech eased as Sandvine Corporation gave back 16 cents, or 3.6%, to $4.29, and BlackBerry shares fell 26 cents, or 2.1%, to $12.21.
Energy proved one of the few bright spots, as PrairieSky Royalty gained $1.35, or 4.2%, to $33.65, as oil prices roared ahead.
The champ in the volume derby again proved to be Carpathian Gold, whose shares were unchanged at 2.5 cents, but in which 10.8 million shares changed hands.
On the economic blotter, Statistics Canada reported real gross domestic product decreased 0.1% in the first quarter, following growth of 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2014.
This was the first negative growth rate of real GDP since the second quarter of 2011. On a monthly basis, real GDP by industry fell 0.2% in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.29 points to 692.45
All 14 TSX subgroups were in the red midday, with metals and mining off 1.7%, consumer staples and global base metals each down 1.2%
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday, the last day of trade for the month, as investors digested economic data and remained cautious on continued concerns about Greece.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 115.44 points, to end at 18.010.68, with General Electric leading laggards and Merck the greatest advancer.
The S&P 500 index slumped 13.40 points to 2,107.39, with industrials leading all 10 sectors lower.
The NASDAQ retreated 27.95 points to 5,070.03
The blue-chip index posted a 1% gain for May. The S&P 500 ended up 1.1% for the month, and the NASDAQ outperformed with a 2.6% monthly gain.
Meanwhile, in stock news, the New York Post reported that Intel is close to a deal to buy smaller chipmaker Altera for around $15 billion U.S.
Shares of health insurer Humana surged 20% on Friday amid reports the company had received takeover interest from potential buyers.
Big Lots reported quarterly profit of 60 cents U.S. per share, one cent above estimates, with revenue in line with forecasts. However, the discount retailer's current quarter earnings forecast is below estimates, with comparable store sales expected to grow by 2% to 3%.
GameStop earned 68 cents U.S. per share for its latest quarter, seven cents above estimates. Revenue was slightly ahead of forecasts, and the video game retailer also gave an upbeat forecast for the current quarter and full year. The company's results were helped by strong sales of new game software.
Equinix is buying Britain's Telecity Group for $3.6 billion U.S., creating Europe's largest data centre company. The acquisition by U.S.-based Equinix also ends Telecity's bid to buy Dutch data center firm Interxion
The second read on first-quarter U.S. GDP showed a decline of 0.7% as the economy struggled under heavy snow storms and the renewed strength in the dollar.
The U.S. government had forecast a drop of 0.8%. Economists expected a 1% decline in first-quarter GDP, after an original print showed a 0.2% gain. That was down from 2.2% growth in the fourth quarter.
Chicago PMI unexpectedly fell to 46.2 in May versus a read of 52.3 in April.
Consumer sentiment showed a final read of 90.7 for May, the lowest since November and below April's 95.9 print.
The Greek government has said it hopes to reach a reform-for-rescue deal with its international bailout supervisors by Sunday, according to Reuters.
However, European officials have denied a deal is near and Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, was quoted in a German newspaper as saying that Greece talks could fail, forcing the country to default on its debts. The paper toned down the quote on Friday after the release of the official transcript from the IMF, Reuters said.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 2.12% from Thursday’s 2.13%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gushed $2.51 a barrel to $60.19 U.S.
Gold prices took on $1.60 at $1,190.40 U.S. an ounce.
