Toronto's stock market was lower as a weak jobs report raised more concerns about whether the U.S. can still support a self-sustaining recovery.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell another 99.50 points to open Friday at 11,915.40
The major earnings news of the morning came from Air Canada. Its first-quarter loss came in at $210 million, far higher than last year's first quarter loss of $19 million but the results beat expectations and its shares added a penny to 93 cents.
Canadian energy stocks bore the worst of the selloff in Canada: Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. fell 3% and Suncor Energy Inc. fell 1.7%.
Royal Bank of Canada fell 0.7%.
The Canadian dollar shed 0.25 cents to 100.88 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 4.72 points to 1,411.82, while the Nasdaq Canada fell 3.75 points to 394.45.
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were weaker to begin the day. Energy stocks slid 2.2%, while metals and mining issues rolled back 2.1% and global base metals fell 1.5%.
The three gainers were gold, up 1.6%, while health-care and materials improved 0.4% each.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened lower Friday after a government report showed that employers added fewer than expected jobs in April.
The Dow Jones Industrials lost 113.94 points to 13,206.60.
The S&P 500 tripped 15.36 points to 1,376.21
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 46.97 to 2,977.33.
Facebook set a price range Thursday of $28 to $35 U.S. per share for its initial public offering. The company also upped the maximum size of its offering to $13.6 billion U.S, up from its previous $5 billion estimate.
First Solar reported a steep quarterly loss late Thursday related to restructuring and announced a new CEO.
AIG shares fell despite earnings that came in well ahead of analyst expectations late Thursday.
Chesapeake Energy shares dropped slightly after the company confirmed that it's facing an inquiry from the Securities and Exchange Commission in the wake of revelations about CEO Aubrey McClendon's controversial compensation program.
LinkedIn shares jumped after the social media company reported strong earnings and revenue that doubled versus last year.
Economically speaking, the jobs report showed a net gain of 115,000 jobs, far less than the 160,000 forecast by economists. However, upward revisions to the February and March jobs figures and a drop in the unemployment rate to 8.1% may temper some of investors' disappointment in the report.
While the monthly jobs number always tends to have a big impact on markets, the readings for April and May will be especially important in determining whether the Federal Reserve moves toward another round of quantitative easing or stays put. The hope that the Fed might pump more money into the economy to respond to weakened hiring could also help to support stocks Friday.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged higher, pushing the yield down to Thursday's 1.92%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil fell $2.67 to $102.54 U.S.
Gold futures for June delivery tumbled $4.40 to $1,630.40 U.S. an ounce.
