TSX Set for Multi-Week Highs

Canada's main stock index opened higher on Friday and was on track for its best weekly performance since late December, with energy and technology stocks leading gains.

The S&P/TSX Composite jumped 133.95 points to begin Friday trading at 21,227.96.

The Canadian dollar slid 0.6 cents at 78.26 cents U.S.

Short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged on Thursday that Standard Lithium Inc's plan to produce lithium for electric-vehicle batteries in Arkansas is based on technology that does not work. That sent Standard's shares down 27% Friday, erasing $305.7 million from the company's market value.

SLL shares have since recovered 68 cents, or 10%, to $7.48.

Bank of Montreal will begin bringing employees in its investment and corporate banking unit back to offices on Monday. BMO shares galloped 58 cents to $148.39.

National Bank of Canada cut the rating on CES Energy Solutions to sector perform from outperform. CES shares were unchanged at $2.48.

Canaccord Genuity raises the rating on Sienna Senior Living to buy from hold. Sienna shares gained 37 cents, or 2.5%, to $15.17.

JP Morgan cut the rating on Suncor Energy to neutral from overweight. Suncor shares lost 32 cents to $36.78.

On the economic picture, the nation’s number crunchers reported employment fell by 200,000 (-1.0%) in January and the unemployment rate rose 0.5 percentage points to 6.5%.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange revived 9.3 points, or 1.1%, to 848.49.

All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green, with energy rustling up gains of 1.7%, health-care haler 1.1%, and information technology clicking up 0.9%.

The three gainers were consumer discretionary, down 0.5%, real-estate, sliding 0.3%, and utilities, off 0.2%.

ON WALLSTREET

Read:

• Optimism on the Rise Thanks to New Developments in Oncology in the Fight Against Cancer

• Double-Digit Growth in Global Cancer Immunotherapy Market to Drive Advancements Ahead of 2030

• Wave of Massive ESG Investments Triggering Major Developments in Mining of Critical Minerals

• Investment in New Plant-Based Alternative Meat Products Ramps Up Into 2022

• New Treatments Needed as Breast Cancer Was Leading Killer of Female Cancer Patients in 2019

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ climbed on Friday to finish their best week of the year, as continued strength in earnings reports extended the tech-led rebound from the January rout.

The Dow Jones Industrials eked higher 0.33 points to begin Friday trading at 35,111.49.

The S&P 500 recovered 19.27 points to 4,495.71

The NASDAQ crawled out of the hole it dug itself Thursday, and jumped 157.1 points Friday, or 1.3%, to 14,035, after its worst day since Sept. 2020.

The moves in the stock market come after several tech names posted huge gains following strong quarterly numbers. Amazon jumped 9%, while Snap rocketed up around 46% the day after reporting earnings. Pinterest rose about 7%.

Friday’s moves come the day after a tech rout spurred by a disappointing earnings report from Facebook parent Meta. The company’s weak results sent the mega-cap tech stock lower Thursday and weighed on equity markets.

The January jobs report showed a 467,000 gain in payrolls. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected a minor gain of 150,000, and some economists predicted a large decrease. Economists had cautioned before the report it could be noisy because of an omicron wave hitting while the survey was taking place.

Prices for 10-year Treasurys sagged, hiking yields to 1.92% from Thursday’s 1.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices hiked $2.54 to $92.81 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices restocked $5.30 to $1,809.40 U.S. an ounce.