Canada's main stock index finished strongly on Friday as shares of Agrium Inc jumped after an activist investor revealed it has a stake in the company, offsetting a drop in oil prices that pulled energy producers lower.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved into the green 56.99 points to end Friday and the week at 14,543.82
The Canadian dollar lost 0.02 cents at 89.02 cents U.S.
The market is on track to record one of its strongest weeks of the year. It is up about 6% since reaching an eight-month low last week.
There were gains to be had in the consumer staples section, most notably Maple Leaf Foods, which skyrocketed or 4.8%, to $19.43, and grocer Metro Inc., which leaped 2.7% to $77.33.
Agrium gained 7.6% to $104.33, after hedge fund ValueAct Capital disclosed it had bought a 5.7% stake in the fertilizer maker.
Shares of energy producers shed strength, with oil prices dropping in choppy trade. Suncor Energy gave back 0.3% to $38.42, and Canadian Natural Resources fell 1.5% to $38.94.
Financials moved up. Bank of Nova Scotia advanced 0.5% to $67.99, and Bank of Montreal climbed 0.3% to $81.51.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 3.15 points to 805.45.
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher to end the day and the week. Consumer staples galloped 2.5%, utilities took on 1.3%, and materials were better by 1.2%.
The three laggards were energy, down 1.2%, metals and mining, slipping 0.7%, and global base metals, off 0.06%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks shook off a rocky start to extend modest gains on Friday. Stocks are on track for a strong overall week, as investors digest positive economic data and a series of upbeat quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 127.51 points to 16,805.41, a spike of 2.5% on the week.
The S&P 500 hiked 13.76 points to 1,964.58. The benchmark is on track for a weekly gain of 3.9%, having bounced back after slumping to a six-month intraday low in last week’s volatile action. That would represent its largest one-week advance in 2014.
The NASDAQ index gained 30.93 points to 4,483.72. The tech-heavy index enjoyed a 5% advance for the week.
Procter & Gamble shares climbed 3% for the best performance among Dow components. The consumer-goods heavyweight said it plans to get out of its Duracell battery business and posted adjusted quarterly earnings that matched expectations.
Microsoft Corp. another Dow gainer, picked up 1.7% after the tech titan posted quarterly profit and revenue that topped forecasts.
Meanwhile, shipping giant United Parcel Service Inc. gained more than 1% after its quarterly results surpassed estimates, but Amazon.com Inc. dropped nearly 8% after the online retailer reported a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss late Thursday. Amazon was the S&P 500’s worst performer.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Commerce Department said sales of new homes in September rose slightly an annual rate of 467,000, hitting a six-year high. Economists expected sales of 455,000.
Around the corner is next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting. The Fed is expected to end its third-round of bond buying, which had been aimed at helping the U.S. economy emerge from the 2008 financial crisis.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 2.27% from Thursday’s 2.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 86 cents to $81.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $1.70 to $1,230.80 U.S. an ounce.
