Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market closed lower Friday despite a solid earnings report from General Electric which made investors feel somewhat better about the U.S. economy.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 72.75 points to 13,258.57, led by losses in the tech sector following an earnings report from U.S. computer chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices that beat analyst forecasts but still disappointed investors.

Meanwhile, mining stocks continued to back off on worries about a slowing Chinese economy.

The TSX Venture Exchange rose 17.9 points to 2,265.58.

A strong retail sales report for November helped put the Canadian dollar up 0.17 of a cent to 100.46 cents US.

Statistics Canada said Friday that retail sales increased 1.3% to $37.3 billion in November, reflecting growth at most store types. The report marked the sixth consecutive monthly rise in sales and was the largest increase since March 2010. It was also much higher than the 0.4% rise that economists had expected.

The TSX had started the session well into positive territory after General Electric Co. said Friday that its fourth-quarter net earnings increased 52% to US$4.46 billion, or 42 cents a share, on strong growth in equipment orders.

GE, which makes products ranging from dishwashers to wind turbines and finances large projects around the globe, also cited improvement in its lending business. Earnings from continuing operations were 36 cents a share, a four-cent improvement on what analysts had been expecting. GE shares ran up 7.1% to US$19.74.

“GE is really a good proxy for the U.S. economy because they are right across the board, they’re so diversified,” said John Kurgan at Lind Waldock.

“Something like that does give investors hope and confidence.”

The information technology sector was the biggest percentage decliner, falling even as Advanced Micro Devices beat expectations on earnings and revenue. Its shares fell 6% to US$7.54.

On the TSX, Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM) closed down $1.46 at at $60.75, while Celestica Inc. (TSX:CLS) lost 17 cents to $9.21.

The TSX financial sector also contributed to the lacklustre session, down almost 1%. CIBC (TSX:CM) lost 88 cents to $75.37 while Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) gave back 72 cents to $55.42.

Lower mining stocks also contributed to the lacklustre session even as the March copper contract in New York rose four cents to US$4.31 a pound. The base metals sector eased 1.7% as Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) fell $1.61 to C$58.66 while Quadra FNX Mining (TSX:QUX) was down 55 cents at $15.58.

It was a second day of losses in the mining sector after news that fourth-quarter economic growth in China was stronger than expected, raising fresh concerns that monetary authorities there may have to do more to cool that country’s economy to ease inflationary pressures. That, in turn, tends to weigh on commodity prices amid concerns that a slowing economy will affect demand for oil and metals, a move that Kurgan thought was overdone.

“When it comes to Chinese statements, some of that stuff is used to misdirect the market or sort of shade it in terms of what they’re doing, so I always kind of look at what their actions are rather than what their words are,” he said.

“Obviously China is a huge driver of the world economy and I think there’s a bit of an overreaction when it comes to commodities.”

Gold stocks moved lower as bullion fell for a second day with the February contract on the Nymex down $5.50 at US$1,341 an ounce. Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD) lost 53 cents to C$15.85 while Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) faded 48 cents to $46.33.

Energy was the strongest sector, up 1.08% even as the March crude contract on the Nymex shed a further 48 cents Friday to US$89.11 a barrel after dropping US$2 on Thursday. Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) gained 39 cents to C$38.06 and Cenovus Energy (TSX:CVE) climbed 54 cents to $32.14. New York markets were mainly higher with the Dow Jones industrial average up 49.04 points at 11,871.84.

The AMD report helped push the Nasdaq composite index down 14.75 points to 2,689.54 while the S&P 500 index climbed 3.09 points to 1,283.35.

The Toronto market lost 205 points or 1.52% this past week, led by a lower base metal stocks.

The Dow industrials gained 84 points or 0.7% on the week, benefiting from a string of strong earnings reports.

In other corporate news, Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) shares retreated from a seven-week run-up, losing 15 cents to $5.70 on heavy volume of almost 12.7 million shares after an analyst downgraded the aircraft and railway manufacturer.

The Montreal-based company’s stock had gained 29% since early December, but Steve Hansen of Raymond James downgraded the stock Friday to market perform with a $6.25 target price.

Nuclear medicine supplier Nordion Inc. (TSX:NDN) reported a return to profitability for the first time as an independent company and will begin paying a dividend to shareholders in April after blowing past analyst estimates. The Ottawa-based company posted a $15.7-million profit in the quarter, a big improvement from the $58.6-million loss it racked up a year ago. Its shares jumped 95 cents, or 9.4%, to $11.06.