The Toronto stock market posted a triple-digit loss at mid-morning Friday after a batch of disappointing earnings from key U.S. companies like Google offset good news from General Electric and BP. The S&P/TSX composite index lost 120.51 points to 11,621.27 amid a broad-based decline in commodities due to ongoing uncertainty about the strength of the economic recovery. U.S. stock markets also moved lower after Google Inc.’s (Nasdaq:GOOG) second-quarter profit of US$1.84 billion missed analysts’ expectations due to higher expenses and fallout from the European debt crisis. The Internet search leader gets about one-third of its revenue from Europe. And lower revenues at both Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) put downward pressure on financial stocks. The weak results offset more upbeat earnings from General Electric (NYSE:GE), which posted its first quarterly profit gain since late 2007, and positive developments at BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In London, shares of BP shot higher in early trading on encouraging early signs of progress in stopping the leak, though later in the session the stock pulled back as the market veered between hope and caution over the developments. BP said it had stopped the leak Thursday night, but that was only the start of up to 48 hours of tests to determine whether the cap will hold. The Toronto energy sector fell 0.95 per cent as the August crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 76 cents to US$75.86 a barrel. Oil has traded around $77 this week as mixed signals from second-quarter U.S. corporate earnings reports and economic indicators suggest an uneven recovery. Shares in Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA) fell 59 cents to C$33.85. The August bullion contract on the Nymex fell $17.30 to US$1,191 an ounce, sending gold stocks down 1.53 per cent. Shares in Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) lost 84 cents to C$44.02. Financials fell 1.25 per cent following a rally late in the day Thursday amid speculation that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) had settled the charges that grew out of the sale of securities based on risky mortgages. However, optimism about the settlement abated Friday morning after it came out that Goldman has agreed to pay US$550 million to settle the charges. This is the largest penalty against a Wall Street firm in SEC history. The base metals sector fell 2.05 per cent as the September copper contract on the Nymex lost 3.1 cents to US$2.98 per pound. Shares in Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) lost 68 cents to C$33.60. The Canadian dollar was down 1.21 cents at 95.05 cents US. The TSX Venture Exchange lost 6.66 points to 1,380.20. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 158.94 points to 10,200.37. The Nasdaq composite index was down 39.75 points at 2,209.33 while the S&P 500 index fell 18.89 points to 1,077.59. In U.S. economic news, the consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan dropped to 66.5 from 76.0 in the prior month. It had been widely expected to improve to 74.5. And U.S. consumer prices fell for the third straight month, providing some bargains to American shoppers. The Consumer Price Index, the U.S. government’s most closely watched inflation barometer, dipped 0.1 per cent in June. Less expensive energy bills were a big factor behind the drop. Prices for some food items and airlines fares also fell last month, but so-called “core” consumer prices, which strip out volatile energy and food, rose 0.2 per cent in June. In Canadian corporate news, Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. (TSX:QUX) said it has increased its equity stake in Gold Wheaton Gold Corp (TSX:GLW) to 34.5 per cent. Shares in Quadra fell 34 cents to $10.75, while shares in Gold Wheaton lost three cents to $2.25. And the Chinese Ministry of Railways has ordered an 40 additional high-speed trains valued at US$761 million from a Bombardier Transportation joint venture. Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B) says its share of the contract is US$373 million. Shares in Bombardier lost one cent to $4.74. Statistics Canada said its composite index of economic leading indicators rose one per cent in June, with growth concentrated in the manufacturing sector. And reports said Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) will likely announce a fix for the iPhone 4’s reception problems, rather than recalling the device. The decision would help calm recent consumer complaints and also avoid a costly recall that could scar the company’s reputation. Overseas, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 3.2 per cent while Germany’s DAX fell 0.3 per cent. The CAC-40 in France was 1.2 per cent higher. Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.35 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat.

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