Equities in Toronto gained some traction by midday Friday, the conclusion of a holiday-shortened week, as weak monthly retail sales offset positive earnings updates, while delays in coronavirus vaccine rollouts and weak jobs data weighed on weekly performance.
The S&P/TSX Composite progressed 68.12 points to reach noon EST Friday at 18,342.19.
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.54 cents to 79.39 cents U.S.
Hudbay Minerals popped 10% while Magna International added 7%, after beating earnings estimates.
OceanaGold fell 6.6%, the most on the TSX, while the second biggest decliner was Ritchie Bros Auctioneers, down 5.3%.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said retail sales posted their largest decline since the low of April driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, decreasing 3.4% to $53.4 billion in December.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 24.77 points, or 2.3%, to 1,096.86.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided by lunch hour, with health-care taking on 2.9%, consumer discretionary stocks sprinting 2.7%, and industrials mightier 0.9%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, descending 1.8% communications, fading 0.9% and consumer staples, down 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Friday after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a large COVID-19 relief package is needed for a full recovery in the U.S.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 82.26 points to 31,575.60,
The S&P 500 nicked 1.88 points higher to 3,915.72.
The NASDAQ Composite acquired 55.11 points to 13,920.47. Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Microsoft all fell.
Apple, up 0.3% on Friday, is down 3.9% on the week.
Friday’s gains weren’t enough to scrub the S&P 500's losses for the week: The index was down 0.3% for the period as of the latest reading. The Dow Jones has fared better with a gain of 0.5%. The NASDAQ is down 1% since last Friday’s close.
Cyclical stocks posted some of the strongest gains with the industrials up 1.6%, materials, improving 1.4%, and financials sectors ahead 1%. Utilities and consumer staples stocks were among the biggest laggards.
Applied Materials, which makes the equipment used to manufacture semiconductors, gave a better-than-expected second-quarter forecast after the bell Thursday. The shares gained 7% Friday. Other chip-related stocks also rose, including Lam Research, AMD and Nvidia.
Yellen told reports after Thursday’s bell that more stimulus is necessary even as some economic data suggested a rebound is already underway. She added a $1.9-trillion stimulus deal could help the U.S. get back to full employment in a year.
Many on Wall Street agree with Yellen that a large stimulus is needed and that a trillion-dollar package, along with a smooth economic reopening this year, will cause the market rally to continue.
The House of Representatives will try to pass a $1.9-trillion coronavirus relief plan before the end of February, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. Democratic Congressional leaders may try to pass a package without votes from Republicans.
After a temporary pullback in December, homebuyers returned to the market in January despite record low supply. Closed sales of existing homes in January increased 0.6% compared with December, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Sales ended the month at a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 6.69 million units. That figure is 23.7% higher compared with January 2020 and the second-highest sales pace since April 2006.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys lost ground, raising yields to 1.35% from Thursday’s 1.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank 92 cents to $59.60 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $5.60 to $1,780.60
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