TSX Flounders as Virus Anxiety Works into Markets

(MENAFN- Baystreet.ca) A volatile week for markets the world over ended with lots of bruises, with losses being particularly marked in the health-care and energy sector. This, as contractions of the coronavirus continued to multiple throughout much of the United States.
The S&P/TSX Composite index got pounded 257.16 points, or 1.7%, to close out the week at 15,188.98, having surrendered 285.22 points, or 1.84%, for the last five sessions.
The Canadian dollar plummeted 0.32 cents to 73.01 cents U.S.
Health-care proved the sector to suffer investor wrath the hardest, with Knight Therapeutics sank 43 cents, or 5.9%, to $6.84, while Hexo docked five cents, or 5.1%, to 94 cents.
Energy also took a pounding as Shawcor dipped 35 cents, or 12.5%, to $2.45, while Frontera Energy parted with 29 cents, or 8%, to $3.35.
In financials, BMO settled $3.24, or 4.4%, to $70.51, while Alaris Royalty got pasted 58 cents, or 4.4%, to $12.66.
Gold stocks did their bit to keep the index as much afloat as they could, as B2Gold collected 27 cents, or 3.8%, to $7.41, while Alamos Gold picked up 43 cents, or 3.7%, to $11.93.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was SEMAFO, which jumped 15 cents, or 3.7%, to $4.72, after Endeavour Mining received clearance for its acquisition of SEMAFO.
Elsewhere in materials, Ero Copper jumped 58 cents, or 3.1%, to $19.08.
Corus Entertainment tumbled 53 cents, or 15.1%, the most on the TSX, to $2.97, after the company missed Q3 earnings, followed by Knight Therapeutics, which lost 55 cents, or 7.6%, to $6.72, after the pharma company reported disappointing Q1 results.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 2.78 points to 598.74, or higher on the week by 31.5 points, or 5.6%.
All but two of the 12 subgroups remained negative on the session, with health-care dropping 4%, energy worse off 2.9%, and financials sliding 2.8%
The two gainers were gold, up 0.9%, and materials, ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply on Friday after Texas rolled back some of its reopening measures, raising concern about the latest spike in coronavirus cases and its impact on the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 730.05 points, or 2.8%, to close Friday at 25,015.55.
The S&P 500 doffed 74.71 points, or 2.4%, to 3,009.05.
The NASDAQ Composite tumbled 259.78 points, or 2.6%, to 9,757.22.
Those losses led to the major averages' second weekly drop in three weeks. The Dow dropped 3.3%, and S&P 500 fell 2.9%, for the week and the NASDAQ lost 1.9% in that time period.
Texas ordered all bars and establishments that receive more than 51% of their gross receipts to close. Restaurants, meanwhile, must limit on-premise dining to less than 50% indoor capacity. 'At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars,'
Florida also announced it would suspend 'on premises consumption' of alcohol at bars in the state after reporting a surge of nearly 9,000 new virus cases. In Arizona, the number of cases jumped by 5.4%, topping a seven-day average of 2.9%. At a nationwide level, the daily average number of confirmed coronavirus cases is now more than 33,000.
Shares of companies that would benefit from an economic reopening tumbled. United Airlines, American and Delta all slid more than 3%. Cruise operator Norwegian Cruise line dropped 5%.
The moves came after the Fed's annual stress test of the major banks showed some banks could get close to minimum capital levels in scenarios related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Because of this, banks must suspend share repurchase programs and cap dividend payments at current levels for the third quarter. Wells Fargo and Capital One may be forced to cut their dividends, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst.
The announcement sent some bank shares lower on Friday. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase both fell more than 5%. Wells Fargo slid 7.4% and Goldman Sachs fell 8.7%.
Meanwhile, Nike shares slid 7.6% on the back of a surprising quarterly loss for the apparel giant. The company reported a loss of 51 cents per share and revenue of $6.31 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter. Nike's quarterly revenue reflected a drop of 38% on a year-over-year basis.
The losses Friday morning came despite a record rise in consumer spending in May. The Commerce Department reported Friday that spending increased 8.2% last month, a positive sign for the U.S. economy amid a growing number of negative coronavirus headlines.
The government's report on how much Americans spent on goods and services in May was the largest one-month gain dating back to records beginning in 1959. Consumer spending represents more than two-thirds of economic demand in the U.S.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury rose sharply, lowering yields to 0.64% from Thursday's 0.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 60 cents to $38.12 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $13.10 to $1,783.70 U.S. an ounce.

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