Canada's main stock index erased early gains to trade lower on Friday, mirroring the mood on Wall Street, as losses in pot producers eclipsed firmer energy stocks and gains in Bank of Montreal after it reported upbeat earnings.
At 10:00 a.m. ET (15:00 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 70.91 points, or 0.34%, at 20,691.12.
Leading the declines, the healthcare sector dropped more than 2%. Losses were concentrated in pot producers Cronos Group Inc, Canopy Growth Corp, Tilray Inc, all of which fell nearly 5%.
The energy sector gained 1.0%, drawing support from a near 3% jump in oil prices after the producer group OPEC+ said it could review its production hike policy at short notice if oil demand collapsed due to new lockdowns.
Bank of Montreal added 3% as its quarterly earnings topped market expectations and the lender joined rivals in raising its dividend and announcing a share buyback program.
The benchmark equity index was on track for its third straight weekly loss as sentiment this week took a hit from fears sparked by the new Omicron coronavirus variant.
"We don't know what's going to happen, if it (Omicron variant) worsens and if we start to see more restrictions coming and lockdowns, then that could obviously have a negative impact on the market," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.
On the economic front, the Canadian economy added a net 153,700 jobs in November, beating expectations, and the jobless rate slipped to 6.0% from 6.7% in October, Statistics Canada said.
Highlights
The TSX posted no new 52-week highs and five new lows.
Across all Canadian issues, there were three new 52-week highs and 31 new lows, with a total volume of 54.40 million shares.
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