Canada stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite down 3.31%

Investing.com – Colombia stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Financials, Investment and Public Services sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Colombia, the COLCAP declined 0.75%.

The best performers of the session on the COLCAP were Etb (BVC:ETB), which rose 7.53% or 3.50 points to trade at 50.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Grupo Bolivar SA (BVC:SCA) added 1.04% or 1,000.00 points to end at 97,500.00 and Ecopetrol SA (BVC:ECO) was up 0.43% or 10.00 points to 2,350.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Mineros SA (BVC:MAS), which fell 3.57% or 780.00 points to trade at 21,080.00 at the close. Grupo Energia Bogota SA ESP (BVC:GEB) declined 2.95% or 100.00 points to end at 3,295.00 and Banco Davivienda Pf (BVC:DVI_p) was down 2.76% or 800.00 points to 28,200.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Colombia Stock Exchange by 0 to 0 and 1 ended unchanged.

Shares in Grupo Bolivar SA (BVC:SCA) rose to 3-years highs; up 1.04% or 1,000.00 to 97,500.00.

US coffee C for March delivery was down 3.50% or 12.10 to $333.40 . Elsewhere in commodities trading, US cocoa for delivery in March rose 0.55% or 23.00 to hit $4,200.00 , while the April Gold Futures contract fell 8.28% or 443.35 to trade at $4,911.45 a troy ounce.

USD/COP was up 0.90% to 3,673.85, while BRL/COP fell 0.53% to 698.12.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.88% at 96.98.

Investing.com – Russia stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Mining, Oil & Gas and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index declined 0.55%.

The best performers of the session on the MOEX Russia Index were Mobil’nye Telesistemy PJSC (MCX:MTSS), which rose 0.04% or 0.10 points to trade at 227.00 at the close. Meanwhile, GDR ROS AGRO PLC ORD SHS (MCX:AGRODR) unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 points to end at 1,083.80 and AFK Sistema PJSC (MCX:AFKS) was down 0.32% or 0.04 points to 13.41 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were MMC NORILSK NICKEL PJSC (MCX:GMKN), which fell 6.12% or 10.40 points to trade at 160.10 at the close. OK Rusal MKPAO (MCX:RUAL) declined 5.62% or 2.34 points to end at 39.28 and Polyus PJSC (MCX:PLZL) was down 3.87% or 104.80 points to 2,601.20.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Moscow Stock Exchange by 196 to 49 and 8 ended unchanged.

Shares in GDR ROS AGRO PLC ORD SHS (MCX:AGRODR) unchanged to 52-week lows; unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 to 1,083.80.

The Russian Volatility Index – RVI, which measures the implied volatility of MOEX Russia Index options, was up 0.34% to 26.61.

Gold Futures for April delivery was down 8.80% or 471.26 to $4,883.54 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 0.55% or 0.36 to hit $65.78 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.46% or 0.32 to trade at $69.91 a barrel.

USD/RUB was up 0.07% to 76.00, while EUR/RUB fell 0.89% to 90.09.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.88% at 96.99.

Investing.com - Canada’s main stock index crashed on Friday after Trump’s nomination of former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh as the new central bank chair.

Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index lost 1092 points, which is almost 3.3% to end at 31,923.52.

Index closed 0.5%, or 160 points, lower at 33,015.13 on Thursday, with falling stocks outnumbering advancing ones by 545 to 414 and 76 ending unchanged.

Warsh is seen as an advocate of lower interest rates, a view more aligned with Trump’s views over the past year, but is also considered to be one of the less radical choices among the various candidates that have publicly suggested for the role.

Canadian GDP data due

Back in Canada, growth data for the month of November is scheduled for release later in the session, with the gross domestic product number expected to show 0.1% growth month on month.

This would represent a rebound from the drop of 0.3% the previous month.

The Canadian economy is navigating a period of slow, but positive growth, with 2026 projected to be a year of transition and stabilization following the trade-driven volatility of 2025.

Gold, crude retreat from highs

Gold prices fell sharply Friday, briefly dropping below $5,000/oz, after the U.S. dollar rose on the news that Kevin Warsh is expected to become Trump’s nominee for the next Federal Reserve chairman.

Warsh is seen as less dovish than other potential candidates, boosting the greenback, to the detriment of commodities denominated in the greenback.

Spot gold slid 4.6% to $5,126.37 an ounce, while gold futures for April fell 3.8% to $5,150.80/oz.

That said, prices have risen more than 20% so far in January, heading for a sixth straight monthly gain and the largest monthly advance since 1982.

Other precious metals also cooled on Friday after logging wild swings this week. Spot silver slid 7.3% to $106.073/oz, tumbling from a Thursday record high, while spot platinum slid 8.5% to $2,394.98/oz.

Oil prices also retreated after a three-day rally, but were still on track for hefty weekly gains as traders focused on potential U.S. military action against Iran.

Brent futures slipped 0.6% to $69.18 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.5% to $65.07 a barrel.

Both benchmarks were set to gain over 6% this week.

Investing.com -- Wall Street slid on Friday, as risk-off sentiment gripped market participants. A spectacular unwinding of the precious metals trade, along with hotter-than-expected producer inflation data, clouded the mood. The big news of the day was President Donald Trump’s nomination of former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh as the new central bank chair. 

At 14:54 ET (19:54 GMT), the benchmark S&P 500 index dropped 0.4% to 6,940.40 points, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite slipped 0.8% to 23,501.90 points, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 48,885.96 points.

After a massive runup, precious metals cratered as investors locked in their massive gains. Gold prices were headed for their worst day in decades, while silver was headed for its worst day ever.  

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Warsh nominated for Fed chair role

"(Warsh) will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best," Trump said on his Truth Social service in announcing his pick. 

Warsh had been considered one of the frontrunners for the job. His nomination comes at a time when Trump is at odds with current Fed Chair Jerome Powell over the state of interest rates.

Trump has long ridiculed Powell for not lowering rates and has threatened to fire him. His administration has opened an investigation into the central bank chief, an action that Powell in an extraordinary move said was because of the Fed not taking rate decisions based on the president’s preference. 

"Market moves are relatively muted considering the magnitude of the change. That’s largely because Warsh was both an unsurprising pick and someone who is already a known figure in Fed circles," Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, told Investing.com.

Warsh served as a Fed Governor from 2006 to 2011. He lost out to Powell for the Fed chair role in 2017. Recently, Warsh has largely aligned himself with Trump’s calls for lower rates in the past year, but was a long-time critic of the ultra-loose monetary policy pursued by the Fed since the financial crisis, including the central bank’s expanded balance sheet.

"Stocks may be a bit disappointed in that he is not particularly dovish – odd considering that the president seemed to really want someone who would share his desire for lower rates," Sosnick added. 

Warsh’s nomination will likely ease concerns about the independence of the Fed in light of his history and past hawkishness.  

Elsewhere, Trump publicly endorsed a bipartisan spending deal negotiated by Senate Republicans and Democrats that would avert a looming government shutdown, posting support on Truth Social and urging cooperation.

The compromise would fund most federal agencies while leaving contentious immigration issues for further negotiation.

Reports said Democrat and Republican leaders had also agreed to the deal, although it remained unclear when Congress will vote on the matter. Lawmakers have until midnight, Friday, to release more spending for the federal government. 

Hot December producer inflation

Traders also received some economic data before the opening bell that further reinforced the Fed’s decision earlier this week to hold interest rates steady.

The core December producer price index (PPI) came in 0.7% higher on a M/M basis, and 3.3% higher on a Y/Y basis. Both figures were well above the consensus estimates. 

The delayed PPI data suggested that inflation was still very much a sticky problem. 

"PPI data was hot. The three month and six month moving averages hottest since 2022," Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG U.S., said. 

"The components that feed into the Federal Reserve’s target measure of inflation, the PCE index were not as bad but underscore why the Fed needs to pause and see what shows up. It is the reason that Chair Powell was cautious on not declaring victory over inflation yet," she added.  

Apple’s iPhone sales surge

In the corporate sector, investors received more earnings from the likes of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), American Express (NYSE:AXP), and Verizon (NYSE:VZ).

After the close Thursday, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) comfortably beat profit and revenue expectations for the holiday quarter, its fiscal first quarter, enjoying its best quarterly iPhone sales growth performance in over four years.

iPhone sales jumped 23.3% year-on-year to $85.27 billion, marking the biggest increase since the fourth quarter of 2021.

The tech giant also forecast higher-than-expected revenue growth of up to 16% for the March quarter, powered by strong demand for its iPhones and a sharp rebound in China and accelerating demand in India.

Still, Apple’s shares slipped over 1% lower as sales in other parts of the company were less positive.

Verizon (NYSE:VZ) stock jumped after the telecoms giant reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded expectations, while providing an upbeat outlook for 2026 that signals the beginning of a strategic turnaround. 

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) stock rose after its oil major’s fourth-quarter profits fell but came in ahead of estimates as it focused on cutting costs and making its operations more efficient to contend with lower crude prices throughout 2025.

In other moves, SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) shares surged after the storage-chip maker delivered a significant profit beat and raised guidance, as demand for data-center and AI-related memory products outpaced forecasts.

Gold, silver bloodbath

Gold prices crashed, as Warsh’s nomination quelled central bank independence concerns. Those worries had added to gold’s lure as a safe haven, contributing to the yellow metal’s recent massive runup.

After nearing $5,600/oz early on Wednesday, profit-buyers finally stepped in to lock some profits, halting Spot gold’s eight-day win streak.  

Spot gold was last down 8% to $4,942.63/oz, while Gold Futures for April fell 7.3% to $4,966.71/oz.  

Other precious metals also slumped on Friday after logging wild swings this week. Spot silver slid a whopping 25.5% to $85.96/oz, tumbling from a Thursday record high, while spot platinum slid 17.6% to $2,159.85/oz. 

Oil prices seesawed after a three-day rally, though they were on track for hefty weekly gains as traders focused on potential U.S. military action against Iran. 

Brent Oil Futures were last up 0.2% to $69.73 a barrel, and Crude Oil WTI Futures were up 0.4% to $65.67 a barrel.

Both benchmarks were set to gain over 7% this week.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, is set to meet on Sunday, with recent reports indicating that the cartel is likely to keep its output unchanged.

Ambar Warrick, Ayushman Ojha, and Peter Nurse contributed to this report

Investing.com -- Fitch Ratings has downgraded BlackRock TCP Capital Corp.’s long-term issuer default rating and debt ratings to ’BB’ from ’BB+’ and placed them on Rating Watch Negative.

The rating action reflects an anticipated 19% decrease in the company’s net asset value (NAV), which will significantly reduce its asset coverage cushion, according to Fitch’s announcement on Friday.

The firm’s leverage is expected to increase to 1.74x at year-end 2025, with net regulatory leverage rising to 1.45x, exceeding its internal target range of 0.9x-1.20x. Fitch noted that it will likely take multiple quarters for the company to return to its target range.

Asset quality continues to deteriorate, with non-accrual investments expected to reach 4.0% of the debt portfolio at fair value and 9.6% at cost by year-end 2025. Net realized losses were 12.1% of the average portfolio at fair value for the first nine months of 2025, significantly above the business development company (BDC) peer average.

Dividend coverage is expected to face pressure in 2026 as the company deals with tighter spreads, potential rate cuts, and the expiration of a partial base management fee waiver after the fourth quarter of 2025. Management expects net investment income to be between $0.24 and $0.26 in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to its quarterly dividend of $0.25.

The company faces $325 million of unsecured notes maturing in February 2026, which it plans to refinance using revolving facilities. This move is expected to weaken its liquidity position and impact earnings capacity.

Fitch indicated that failure to reduce leverage, enhance asset coverage, or improve dividend coverage could result in further negative rating actions. The rating agency’s sector outlook for BDCs in 2026 is deteriorating due to elevated interest rates and challenging macroeconomic conditions.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ:PTON) has reduced its workforce by 11% as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative, according to a Bloomberg News, citing a person familiar with the matter.

CEO Peter Stern, who assumed leadership of the fitness technology company last year, informed employees about the layoffs on Friday. The job cuts primarily affect engineers working on technology and enterprise-related projects, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

The workforce reduction comes just days before Peloton is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report next week.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.