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Stocks Close Stronger
Markets in Toronto enjoyed another positive day Friday, riding on the shoulders of health-care and real-estate stocks, as lacklustre job figures eased fears the Bank of Canada might soon hike rates.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 23.82 points to conclude Friday and the week at 15,983.32, still about 230 points lower than where it left off 2017.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.13 cents to 78.2 cents U.S.
Health-care again led the parade Friday, with Canopy Growth climbing 62 cents, or 2.1%, to $30.37, while Valeant Pharmaceuticals jumped $1.05, or 4.1%, to $26.60.
Real-estate also reported strength, as Brookfield Asset Management gained 31 cents to $51.92
Shares of Thomson Reuters, down 4.6% to $47.67, was among the most heavily traded. The news and information company reported first-quarter sales and earnings that were slightly higher than expected.
Picking up the slack among telecoms were shares in BCE, up 52 cents, or 1%, to $53.78, while Shaw Communications inched up seven cents to $26.20.
Industrials leaned most heavily on the laggards, as Canadian Pacific Railways doffed 51 cents to $238.62, while rival Canadian National shed 93 cents to $101.57.
In the tech sector, BlackBerry lost 32 cents, or 2.1%, to $14.84.
Consumer staples also took some knocks, as Loblaw Companies backtracked 53 cents to $65.79, while Maple Leaf Foods doffed 29 cents, or 1%, to $28.85.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported employment was essentially unchanged in April and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.8%
On the North American Free Trade Agreement front, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has set a May 17 deadline to be notified of a new trade deal to give the current Congress a chance of passing it.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.23 points, or 1.1%, to 782.92
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were up Friday, led by health-care, up 2%, real-estate, ahead 0.5%, and telecoms, progressing 0.4%
The five laggards were weighed most by industrials, down 0.5%, while information technology and consumer staples were each off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrial average rose on Friday as Wall Street booked a week of solid gains following a strong rally in energy stocks. The Dow also posted a seven-day winning streak.
The 30-stock index moved higher by 91.51 points to 24,831.17, with Verizon and Merck as the best-performing stocks.
The S&P 500 gained 4.65 points to 2,727.72, as telecommunications and health care outperforming.
The NASDAQ faded 2.09 points to 7,402.88
For the week, the the Dow rose 2.3%— its biggest weekly gain since March — while the S&P 500 upped 2.4%, and the NASDAQ climbed 2.7%
Energy stocks were up 3.8% for the week entering Friday's session, the most of all 11 S&P 500 sectors. The sector received a boost from surging oil prices, which jumped after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Technology shares also contributed to the index's weekly gains, rising 3.5%. Leading the S&P 500's biggest sector by market cap were Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet, which climbed more than 5%. Apple — the biggest U.S. publicly traded company — reached an all-time high this week.
In corporate news, chip maker Nvidia reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue, while giving upbeat guidance. The stock fell 2.2%, however.
Verizon shares jumped more than 3% after analysts at J.P. Morgan upgraded the telecom giant, noting that its heft dividend and 5G network plans will be a boost.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury dipped slightly, raising yields to 2.97% from Thursday’s 2.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 81 cents a barrel to $70.55 U.S.
Gold prices lost three dollars to $1,319.30 U.S. an ounce.
