Canadian shares retreated on Friday, led by energy producers following a drop in crude oil prices.
The benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) fell 1% to 13,441.04 at 12:38 p.m. in Toronto. Four shares declined for every issue that advanced as eight out of ten share groups were in negative territory.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, was the largest laggard with a 3.3% drop.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, dropped 2.5% to C$34.15. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), Canada’s second-largest energy producer, dipped 3.7% to C$26.54.
U.S. crude was down 2.5% at $44.74.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, decreased 0.9% as gold hit one-month low.
Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, gave up 2.1% to C$16.43. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), Canada’s second-largest gold miner, inched up 0.2% to C$8.24.
Dominion Diamond (TSE:DDC) fell 1.4% to C$15.75 after swinging to a second-quarter loss of 21 cents a share from a profit of 31 cents a year earlier, hurt in part by a charge related to the departure of the diamond miner’s chief executive during the quarter. Sales fell 24%. It also declared an interim dividend of 20 cents a share.
Spot gold was down 1% at $1,100.40 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down $9.60 an ounce at $1,099.70.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, skidded 0.5%. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, inched down 0.2% to C$72.19.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, slipped 0.6% to C$51.78.
Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) fell 0.7% to C$68.92, erasing an earlier gain. Canada’s fourth-largest lender agreed to buy GE (NYSE:GE) Capital’s transportation-finance business in the U.S. and Canada.
BRP (TSE:DOO) advanced 1% to C$27.10 after the recreational vehicle maker reported an unexpected adjusted profit in its fiscal second quarter, helped by higher sales from propulsion systems and accessories.
In economic news, Canadian household debt climbed to a record level in the second quarter, as disposable income increased at a slower pace than household credit market debt, data from Statistics Canada showed on Friday.