Canada’s main stock index ended lower on Friday, after the average notched a fresh record high in the prior session.
Track Canadian stock with InvestingPro The S&P/TSX composite index down 0.48% at 34,334.74.
Index rose 1.1% to 34,501.96 on Thursday, surpassing a previous all-time high logged earlier this week. Solid bank earnings supported the key financial sector, as did an uptick gold prices.
Heading into the final trading day of the week, spot gold had slipped, yet remained on pace for its seventh consecutive positive month. Prices of silver and copper have also risen.
U.S. stocks drop
U.S. stock index fell, pointing to a downbeat end to the week with the tech sector in focus ahead of the release of key inflation data.
The benchmark S&P 500 index was down 0.8% to 6,856.99 points, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite shed 1.2% to 22,608.85 points, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 1.2% to 48,887.75 points.
The main averages on Wall Street notched a mixed close on Thursday, with the S&P 500 index losing 0.5%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite declining 1.2%, but the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average gained less than 0.1%.
The Nasdaq was set to lose 2.5% this month, while the S&P was down 0.4% following sustained losses in tech shares. The Dow was trading up 1.2% for February, having benefited from a pivot into non-tech sectors.
Nvidia, the most valuable company in the world, was the biggest weight on Wall Street on Thursday, sliding over 5% despite logging bumper quarterly earnings.
Questions over more shareholder returns, especially after a sharp increase in the company’s cash balance, weighed on the stock, as did some profit-taking after a strong run-up ahead of its earnings.
Salesforce shares, on the other hand, gained despite the company issuing an underwhelming annual revenue forecast. However, analysts at Vital Knowledge said the earnings were "no worse than feared."
Netflix declines to raise Warner Bros offer
Netflix was in the spotlight, soaring more than 6% premarket after the streaming giant said it will not raise its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery.
This was after Warner determined an upgraded, $31 a share offer from Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) was the superior proposal.
Netflix said that with the price required to match Paramount’s latest offer, the deal was “no longer financially attractive.”
Still, the streaming giant is set to receive $2.8 billion as a termination fee from Paramount if Warner picks the latter. Warner shareholders are set to vote on the Netflix deal on March 20.
Netflix declining to further pursue Warner marks a potential end to one of the largest high-profile bidding wars in the media industry. The streaming giant and Paramount had aggressively pursued Warner, with its studio assets and host of popular franchises being viewed as highly attractive.
