Toronto stock markets were generally flat Friday amid ongoing concerns over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery despite some impressive headline numbers on growth in the American durable goods sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index remained ahead 15.98 points to close the day and the week at 15,408.33
The Canadian dollar dumped 0.18 cents to 82.15 cents U.S.
Strongest stocks throughout the day came in the metals and mining sector, led by a 12-cent, or 9.1%, surge in Capstone Mining, which ended the day at $1.44. First Quantum Minerals climbed 93 cents, or 5.6%, to $17.48.
Utilities were also in the green, as Just Energy shares rocketed 45 cents, or 7.3%, to $6.58, and Canadian Utilities gained 67 cents, or 1.7%, to $40.65.
Not faring so well were gold issues, as Sandstorm Gold stumbled 23 cents, or 5.3%, to $4.13, and Primero Gold sank 23 cents, or 5.2%, to $4.23.
Information technology was also in the red, as Open Text Corporation dipped $1.71, or 2.5%, to $4.36.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 1.78 points to 697.70
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, with metals and mining charging ahead 4.6%, global base metals better by 2.7%, and utilities moving up 0.5%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by gold, sliding 1.2%, information technology, demurring 0.5%, and energy, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, with the NASDAQ setting another record as investors cheered major earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 21.45 points to 18,080.14
The S&P 500 index moved higher 4.77 points to 2,117.70, a new record.
The NASDAQ index gained 36.02 to 5,092.09, closing at a record for the second day in a row,
Microsoft surged more than 10% to lead blue chips gains. The company posted earnings and revenue that beat estimates after the close Thursday, as the firm shook off the negative impact of the strong U.S. dollar with growth in hardware sales and commercial cloud computing.
Amazon.com closed up 14% after spiking 15.5% to a new intraday high despite reporting a decline in earnings as expected and light guidance. Revenue did beat expectations with a boost from the e-commerce firm's primary market, North America.
With no other economic data expected, major stocks to watch included Microsoft, Google, Amazon.com, and Starbucks, which reported earnings after the bell on Thursday.
The Apple Watch becomes available on Friday, ahead of Apple's earnings report after the close on Monday.
Biogen's stock was under pressure ahead of the bell after the company's first-quarter sales of Tecfidera, an oral multiple sclerosis drug, came in at $824.9 million U.S., below consensus estimates, according to Reuters.
Starbucks surged more than 4.5% to hit an all-time high on Friday. The coffee retailer topped expectations for global same-store sales and beat on both the top and bottom lines.
Despite major gains in those major names, nearly half, or 212, of the S&P 500 were trading below their 50-day moving average. SanDisk, Pulte Group and Xerox were the worst performers.
AstraZeneca shares fell more than 1.5% after the company reported that sales fell by 6% in the first quarter, citing a rising dollar and competition from Nexium generics, according to Reuters.
Futures briefly pared gains following durable goods that beat on the headline figure but showed a disappointing decline in the core figure.
Durable goods, ex-transportation, fell 0.2%, below expectations for a slight gain but less than February's 1.3% decline.
Including transportation, which tends to be volatile, the report posted an increase of 4% for March, surpassing expectations for a moderate bounce back, after February's disappointing 1.4% month-on-month drop.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 1.91% from Thursday’s 1.94%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices listed lower 58 cents to $57.16 U.S.
Gold prices fell $16.70 to $1,177.60 U.S.
