Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Canada's main stock index lost ground in the final day of trading in July as some commodities dropped, but North American stock markets in general finished the month with positive numbers.
Pierre Cleroux, VP of Research and Chief Economist for the Business Development Bank of Canada, said Amazon Inc. announced it missed its sales targets for the quarter, which stoked concerns that the next quarter may not be as prosperous for equity markets as the previous one.
“They didn't miss it by much, but people are kind of worried that the tech companies, which performed very well through the pandemic, are probably not going to be as good for growth in the next few months as before,” said Cleroux.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 23.98 points at 20,287.80.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 149.06 points at 34,935.47. The S&P 500 index was down 23.89 points at 4,395.26, while the Nasdaq composite was down 105.58 points at 14,672.68.
“To put it into perspective, all the markets are down, but they're slightly down,” said Cleroux.
“The Nasdaq is still 1 per cent up for July, the Dow is 1.5 per cent up, so despite the fact today was not a good day, overall over the month, this has been positive.”
Cleroux said the concerns over U.S. tech stocks had implications in Canada too, especially for Canadian tech companies like Shopify Inc., which lost 1.39 per cent of its value in trading today.
As earnings season continues, Cleroux said the second quarter of 2021 has been positive for most companies, which benefitted from reopenings as COVID-19 vaccines were widely distributed.
Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported a strong second quarter today, beating estimates from analysts with solid earnings. The Toronto-based company's stock was up 5.42 per cent as a result.
Cleroux said Enbridge Inc. also reported a strong second quarter, although their stock still declined slightly by 0.55 per cent as a result of more concerns over oil and gas demand.
The September crude oil contract dipped mid-day, but closed up 33 cents cents at US$73.95 per barrel. The September natural gas contract was down 14.5 cents at US$3.914 per mmBTU.
As the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread in the U.S. and Europe, Cleroux said oil prices continue to be in question as the danger of economic restrictions looms.
Metals also suffered losses today, with the December gold contract down US$18.60 at US$1,817.20 an ounce and the September copper contract down 4.1 cents at nearly US$4.48 a pound.
The substantial drop in gold comes after a larger rise on Thursday. Cleroux said the drop was largely due to people selling their assets after making profits Thursday, and to other market effects.
The Canadian government also released its GDP report for May, reporting a 0.3 per cent contraction for the month.
However, Cleroux said it was a mixed message since the government is also estimating 0.7 per cent growth for June, as that month will take into account when COVID-19 lockdowns were lifted.
He also expects a positive report for July, since that was the month that provinces like Alberta opened almost entirely without restrictions.
“We knew May was going to be negative because a lot of provinces had to introduce restrictions on the economy,” said Cleroux.
“We expect the rest of the year to be really good.”
The GDP news did not have a significant effect on the Canadian dollar, which traded for 80.24 cents US, compared with 80.32 cents US on Thursday.
Cleroux attributed the drop mostly to the drop in commodity prices Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2021.
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
King Charles III’s doctors are 'sufficiently pleased' with his cancer treatment and he is expected to return to public-facing duties, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.
An investigation is underway after a Regina police officer was accidentally shot by a fellow officer’s gun during the search of a house early Friday morning.
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.