Big gains for TSX

Canadian stocks extended their climb into a second session on Friday, with Toronto's benchmark equities index set for a gain on the week on strength in the metals and mining and technology sectors.

The S&P/TSX Composite index moved ahead 155.46 points, or 1.3%, to conclude the day and week at 11,795.21

The Canadian dollar added 0.53 cents to 99.55 cents U.S.

On the earnings front, Mega Brands Inc. posted a second-quarter profit about five times higher than the same quarter a year ago. Shares of the toy maker rallied 9.3% to $7.16 following the news.

TransForce Inc. posted a 30% rise in second-quarter profit, fueling a 6.7% jump in the trucking company's shares to $7.70 by the closing bell.

Taking a major hit, TMX Group Inc., operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, reported its second-quarter profit had tumbled 97%, citing costs related to its Maple Group acquisition. Shares fell back but 0.5% to $49.23.

In the gold sector, Barrick Gold Corp. dipped 1.8% to $32.46, while rival Goldcorp. Inc. subsided 0.2% in price to $36.44

In the energy field, Imperial Oil advanced 2.2% to $43.70, while rival Canadian Natural Resources climbed 1.2% to $28.17, and Suncor Energy ended the day unchanged at $31.86 a share.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange was up 5.30 points to 1,186.72. The Nasdaq Canada index finished forward 5.13 points to 338.30.

All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive to end the day, global base metals leading the way, up 3.2%; the metals and mining group was up 2.8%, and energy was 2.1% stronger.

The two laggards were real-estate, sliding but 0.05%, and utilities, down 0.04%.

ON WALLSTREET

A stock rally accelerated Friday afternoon on hopes that central banks in Europe and the United States will take steps to support the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average grew another 187.23 points, or 1.5%, to conclude Friday at 13,075.70, above the psychologically-important 13,000 level, which it had not crossed since early May.

The S&P 500 hiked 25.41 points to 1,385.43. The Nasdaq improved 64.84 points to 2,958.09

The major indexes were all on track to end higher for the week. With less than 90 minutes to go, the Dow was up 2% for the week, the S&P added 1.6% and the Nasdaq was headed for a 0.9% gain.

Facebook shares fell to an all-time low after the social network company's first quarterly earnings release as a public company. Facebook beat analysts' revenue expectations slightly and earnings matched forecasts, but that was apparently not enough for Wall Street.

Starbucks shares also tumbled after quarterly earnings that missed analysts' expectations.

Expedia shares surged after the online travel booking company reported strong quarterly results.

Despite reporting mixed quarterly results and a disappointing outlook, Amazon shares moved higher as investors focused on the online retailer's long-term growth prospects.

Shares of Barclays gained after the bank apologized for the Libor scandal while reporting a $6.3-billion U.S. profit for the second quarter.

Merck shares rose after the pharmaceutical company beat earnings and sales expectations and affirmed its outlook for the year.

Del Frisco's, a high-end steakhouse chain, raised $75 million U.S. in its initial public offering late Thursday, as shares priced at $13 U.S., below the range of $14 to $16 U.S. The stock fell 2.7% in active trading on the Nasdaq.

Friday's rally was driven mainly by "chatter" the European Central Bank will intervene in the bond market to ease borrowing costs for Spain and Italy, according to some experts.

French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a joint statement Friday that they are "committed to do everything to protect the euro-zone." E.C.B. President Mario Draghi said Thursday that the bank will do "whatever it takes" to preserve the euro.

Draghi will meet this weekend with officials from the German central bank, which has resisted buying bonds in the secondary market, ahead of next week's policy meeting, according to Bloomberg. The central bank chief is reportedly pushing a plan to buy bonds, lower interest rates and offer additional liquidity to European banks.

On the economic front, the U.S. economy grew at a 1.5% annual rate in the second quarter of 2012, according to the government. While that's down from a 2% rate in the first three months of the year, it's slightly better than the predicted 1.4% annual pace.

Also, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment fell to 72.3 in July from 73.2 in June. It was the lowest level since December.

Economists had expected the index to remain unchanged in July at 72, according to a survey of analysts

The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slumped, raising yields to 1.56% from Thursday's 1.43%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for September delivery picked up 74 cents to $90.13 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery rose $1.50 to $1,616.60 U.S. an ounce.