Data Limits Gains at Open

Canada’s main stock index rose on Friday, as gains in the technology and health-care sectors were limited by lower oil prices and weak Canadian jobs and housing permits data.

The TSX Composite Index eked up 27.29 points to begin the week’s last session at 16,833.04

The Canadian dollar backed off 0.32 cents to 75.59 cents U.S.

Magna International Inc cut its full-year financial outlook after quarterly sales missed estimates due to a fall in global automobile production and a labor strike at General Motors, its biggest customer.

Magna shares floundered $2.79, or 3.7%, to $71.84.

TC Energy estimates the Keystone oil pipeline can be partially restarted anytime from Sunday to Tuesday, pending regulatory approval, after a more than 9,000-barrel leak in rural North Dakota, shippers on the line said on Thursday. TC shares gained 59 cents to $66.08.

Geodrill said on Thursday two of its employees were killed after an ambush near a Canadian-owned mine in Burkina Faso killed at least 37. Geodrill were unchanged at $1.45.

CIBC cut the rating on Altagas Canada to neutral from outperformer. AltaGas eked up three cents to $19.88.

RBC cut the rating on Medical Facilities to underperform from sector perform. Medical Facilities shares tumbled 56 cents, or 9.8%, to $5.14.

On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that, following two consecutive months of growth, employment held steady in October. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.5%

StatsCan also said the total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities decreased 6.5% to $8.3 billion in September, largely due to declines in the residential sector.

Gains were reported in four provinces, with the largest increase in Alberta (+7.2% to $1.0 billion).

Elsewhere, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said the seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts in Canada dropped 8.7% from a month earlier to 201,973 units in October, missing market expectations of 221,200.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.3 points at 535.10

The 12 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided to begin Friday, with information technology better by 1.2%, health-care haler 1%, and industrials improving 0.5%.

The half-dozen laggards were co-weighed by materials and gold, each down 0.6%, while energy doffed 0.5%.

READ: The One Chart Every Gold Investor Needs To See

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks fell on Friday after President Donald Trump threw cold water on recent U.S.-China trade optimism by saying he has not agreed to roll back existing tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrials eased back from its Thursday record close by 52.97 points to open Friday at 27,621.83,

The S&P 500 slipped 4.69 points to 3,080.49

The NASDAQ dropped 7.92 points, to 8,427.18

Entering Friday’s session, the Dow is up 1.2% week to date. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite are both up 0.6% for the week through Thursday’s close. It would be the third straight week of gains for the Dow while the S&P 500 headed for its fifth straight weekly gain. The NASDAQ was on pace for a six-week winning streak.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Commerce Ministry said Thursday that China and the U.S. had agreed to cancel existing tariffs in phases. A U.S. official also said reportedly both sides agreed to roll back the levies in tranches.

Sentiment was also boosted this week by corporate earnings results that have generally beaten expectations. Of the 425 S&P 500 companies that have reported thus far, 74% have beaten estimates

Most recently, Disney posted better-than-forecast quarterly numbers, sending the stock up about 4%.

Disney’s revenues for its media and networks segment topped estimates, while sales for the company’s parks, studio entertainment and direct-to-consumer businesses also beat expectations. The stock also got a lift from increasing enthusiasm around next week’s launch of Disney+.

Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury inched up, lowering yields to 1.91% from Thursday’s 1.92%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices lost $1.22 to $55.93 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices fell $1.30 to $1,465.10 U.S. an ounce.