Today in the markets
U.S. stocks were sharply lower Friday with the Dow Jones falling 209 points or 1.3%. Most of the selling came in the final hour of trading.
Canadian stocks were mostly lower with mining and energy stocks leading the way to a lower session amid falling prices for oil and copper.
The S&P/TSX Composite was down 96.13 points to 12,650.42, while the TSX Venture Exchange was ahead 1.67 points to close at 962.41.
Active stocks included Epizyme Inc. (NASDAQ: EPZM, Stock Forum). The shares soared in their first day of trading after the biotech company raised $77.1 million in its initial public offering of stock. The shares closed at $22.99 after opening at $20 and trading in a daily range of $23.63 and $18.60.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ, Stock Forum) was the best performing blue chip in May. It fell 3.3% Friday to $24.42.
In Canada, New Gold Inc. (TSX: T.NGD, Stock Forum) has reached a friendly deal to acquire Rainy River Resources Ltd. (TSX: T.RR, Stock Forum), which has an advanced gold project in Ontario. The offer values Rainy River at about $310 million, net of its cash balance.
New Gold is offering $3.83 per share to Rainy River shareholders. New Gold shares declined 8% to $7.05 while Rainy River surged 35% cents to $3.64.
Centerra Gold Inc. (TSX: T.CG, Stock Forum) shares were 8% lower to $3.82 as hundreds of protesters attempted to storm the company's office in eastern Kyrgyzstan Friday, near the village of Barskoon. The incident came after a protest that began earlier this week to demand that Centerra's Kumtor mine be nationalized. The mine is the largest foreign-owned gold mine in the former Soviet Union.
Canadian National Railway Co. (TSX: T.CNR, Stock Forum) was also in focus after JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM, Stock Forum) upgraded its stock to neutral from underweight with a target price of $110. The shares gained 0.71%to $105.21.
For news about small stocks that made big moves in Friday’s trading, please read the
Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report