Supporters from the "No" Campaign applaud Alistair Darling, the leader of the Better Together campaign, at their headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland September 19, 2014.DYLAN MARTINEZ/Reuters
The Toronto stock market was lower Friday, despite a rise across most global markets following Scotland's historic decision to remain part of the United Kingdom.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 44.28 points to 15,421.26, while the Canadian dollar gained 0.20 of a cent to 91.55 cents (U.S.).
Fifty-five per cent of Scots voted against independence in the referendum Thursday, compared with 45 per cent in favour of separation. There was an unprecedented turnout of just under 85 per cent. The news gave relief to investors because it avoids uncertainty in the U.K economy and markets over the future value of the pound and public debt.
The referendum had also led to promises by the U.K. to provide more powers not just to Scotland, but to England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The vote against independence keeps the United Kingdom from losing a substantial part of its territory, oil reserves and prevents it from having to find a new base for its nuclear arsenal, now housed in Scotland. It had also faced a possible loss of influence within international institutions, including the 28-nation European Union, NATO and the United Nations.
The decision also means Britain can avoid a prolonged period of financial insecurity that had been predicted by some if Scotland had favoured independence.
"The Scottish referendum may be over, but political uncertainty is here to stay in the U.K.," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at Forex.com. "Markets tend to be fearful of political uncertainty, especially when it could change the political landscape in a major global power like the U.K."
U.S. markets were boosted by the vote and the big debut of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba.
The Dow Jones industrials was ahead 68.98 points at 17,334.97 after closing at an all-time high on Thursday. The Nasdaq was up 13.56 points at 4,606.99 and the S&P 500 index advanced 6.83 points to 2,018.19, above its own record high from the previous day.
Alibaba begins trading later on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "BABA." The company priced its initial public offering of stock at $68 a share late Thursday. The IPO values Alibaba at $167.62-billion (U.S.) – more than the current market value of tech giants such as Amazon, Cisco, and eBay.
In economic news, Statistics Canada says the country's annual inflation rate was 2.1 per cent in August, unchanged from the previous month.
The figure was in line with what analysts were expecting.
Core inflation, the number the Bank of Canada closely monitors and which excludes some items from the volatile energy and food categories, rose by 2.1 per cent, after an increase of 1.7 per cent in July.
On the commodity markets, the November crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 46 cents to $92.61 a barrel. December bullion was down $5.60 to $1,221.30 an ounce and December copper was down less than a penny to $3.08 a pound.