Stocks sprang to life in Toronto on Friday, after the Bank of Japan surprised financial markets by significantly expanding its massive stimulus program.
The S&P/TSX composite index recovered 105.45 points to begin the last session of the week and month at 14,564.14
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.76 cents to 88.63 cents U.S.
Canadian Oil Sands Ltd, the largest shareholder in the Syncrude Canada Ltd joint venture, said on Thursday its quarterly profit fell by nearly two-thirds on foreign-exchange losses, lower commodity prices and higher expenses. Oil Sands shares took on 32 cents, or 1.9%, to $17.41.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd reported a bigger-than-expected drop in third-quarter earnings on Thursday partly due to lower copper and nickel production. First Quantum shares retreated 89 cents, or 5.1%, to $16.49.
Raymond James raised the rating on Canfor Pulp Products to strong buy from outperform. Canfor Pulp gained 46 cents, or 3.8%, to $12.50.
The Bank of Japan's board voted five to four to accelerate purchases of Japanese government bonds, increasing its holdings at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($723.4 billion U.S.), while tripling its purchases of exchange-traded funds and real-estate investment trusts.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that August’s gross domestic product declined 0.1% in August, following no growth in July and increases in the first six months of the year.
The agency blames oil and gas extraction and manufacturing for much of the August decrease.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveiled $26.76 billion in family tax cuts and benefits over six years on Thursday, which will start flowing to voters over the coming year as the country gears up for an election next October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 11.08 points to 760.57
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher in the early going, led by information technology, up 2.2%, health-care, up 1.8%, and consumer discretionary stocks, up 1.3%
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, down 3.6%, materials, off 1.7%, and metals and mining, down 1.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The markets are off to a wild start, after a surprise easing move by the BOJ overnight reminded investors that the end of the Federal Reserve's bond buying program didn't mean liquidity was drying up.
The Dow Jones Industrials hiked 137.56 points to 17,332.98, a fresh new intraday record.
The S&P 500 gained 15.26 points to 2,009.90. The NASDAQ index moved higher 55.21 points to 4,621.35.
LinkedIn gained after the online professional network reported third-quarter sales that beat expectations;
GoPro rose after its fourth-quarter profit outlook topped estimates;
Citigroup gained after reporting a $600-million U.S. legal hit;
Starbucks dropped after the coffee retailer tallied quarterly revenue that disappointed, and Exxon Mobil rose after reporting a 3% increase in quarterly profit.
Equities offered muted reaction to Friday data that had U.S. consumer spending unexpectedly falling in September, a gauge of manufacturing activity in the Chicago region hitting 66.2 in October, better than the estimated 60.0, and U.S. consumer sentiment rising to 86.9 in October versus an expected 86.4.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries dipped, raising yields to 2.32% from Thursday’s 2.30%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lowered $1.41 to $79.71 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices tumbled $34.20 to $1,164.30 U.S. an ounce.
