Canada’s benchmark stock index closed at a record high on Friday as energy shares surged alongside oil prices and as investors bet the central bank will be less aggressive in raising interest rates than previously anticipated.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 61.68 points to close the day and the week at 15,953.51
The Canadian dollar gained 0.26 cents to 78.06 cents U.S.
The energy group accounted for the bulk of the gains, helped by stronger oil. Encana advanced 67 cents, or 4.9%, to $14.43.
Crescent Point Energy also mushroomed, gaining 46 cents, or 5.1%, to $9.47.
Among gold stocks, Barrick Gold advanced 20 cents, or 1.1%, to $18.84, while Goldcorp shares prospered 20 cents, or 1.2%, to $16.81.
Among consumer staples, Saputo Inc provided one of the biggest boosts, rising $2.57, or 5.7% to $47.48. It became Australia's top milk producer by agreeing to pay up to $490 million for Murray Goulburn Co-operative, its second major acquisition in the country.
On the other side of the coin, health-care stocks closed downward, as Canopy Growth Corporation slid 16 cents, or 1.2%, to $12.79, while rival Aphria Inc. capsized nine cents, or 1.3%, to $6.75.
Industrials were off as TFI International Inc slumped 47 cents, or 1.5%, % to $31.58, while Bombardier lost a penny to $2.78.
In the consumer discretionary sector, Magna International faded 96 cents, or 1.4%, to $69.94.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was positive 4.41 points to 787.38
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, as energy triumphed 2.6%, gold shone 0.9% brighter, and consumer staples gained 0.4%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed down most by 1.2%, industrials, sliding 0.4%, and consumer discretionary stocks, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The tech-heavy NASDAQ composite rose to a record high on Friday as Wall Street cheered the blowout quarterly reports from three of the world's biggest tech companies.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 33.33 points to conclude Friday trading at 23,434.19
The S&P 500 added 20.67 points to 2,581.07, also a new record high.
The NASDAQ rocketed 144.49 points, or 2.2%, to 6,701.26, and notched its biggest one-day gain since last November
Leading tech stocks higher were shares of Amazon, up 13.2%, Microsoft, ahead 6.4%, and and Google-parent Alphabet, booming 4.3%.
E-commerce giant Amazon reported earnings per share of 52 cents a share, way ahead of a Thomson Reuters estimate of three cents a share. Amazon Web Services, the company's cloud business, was its main driver for growth, with sales leaping 42% on a year-over-year basis.
Amazon also received a boost in sales from Whole Foods, which it acquired in late August. The stock broke above $1,100 for the first time on Friday.
Microsoft, meanwhile, beat Wall Street earnings expectations by 12 cents a share as its commercial cloud business topped $20 billion in annualized revenue for its fiscal first quarter. The stock posted its biggest one-day gain since October 2015.
Google-parent Alphabet reported adjusted earnings per share of $9.57, well above a Thomson Reuters estimate of $8.33 a share, as the company saw a higher-than-expected surge in the volume of clicks on Google ads across the world, especially in Asia.
Information technology has handily outperformed the broader U.S. stock market this year. The sector is up about 30% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained approximately 15%.
Economically speaking, the first reading on third-quarter Gross Domestic Product showed the U.S. economy grew by 3%, above an estimate of 2.5%
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma struck parts of Texas and Florida in late August and early September. Excluding inventory investment, the economy grew at a 2.3% rate, slowing from the second quarter's 2.9% pace.
Equities have reached record highs recently in part because of improving economic data. Consumer sentiment hit 100.7 in October, just below the expected 100.8.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note acquired some might Friday, lowering yields to 2.42% from Thursday’s 2.46%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices improved $1.26 a barrel to $54.19 U.S.
Gold prices acquired five dollars an ounce to $1,274.60 U.S.
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