Equities in Canada’s biggest centre continued in the green midday Friday, as gold stocks, helped by stronger gold prices, and energy firms, led the market.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index moved higher 11.9 points to greet noon at 15,146.90
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.49 cents to 79.02 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold was the most influential mover on the index, rising 1.9% to $20.36. Late on Thursday, a union representing workers at the Zaldivar copper mine in Chile, owned by Barrick and Antofagasta Plc, said talks would resume after voting to strike earlier this week.
Goldcorp advanced 1.9% to $16.69.
Among energy plays, Encana Corp added 1.2% to $11.90.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recouped 4.24 points to 757.17
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, as gold soared 1.5%, materials hiked 0.8%, and telecoms zoomed 0.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were co-led by consumer staples, consumer discretionaries and information technology, each down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Friday as Wall Street parsed through key corporate earnings and economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials improved 16.92 points to 21,570.01, with Boeing contributing the most gains and Goldman Sachs the most losses.
The S&P 500 gained 4.78 points to 2,452.61, with real estate leading advancers and financials dropping 0.9%.
The NASDAQ added 19.62 points to 6,294.06
Earnings season kicked off in earnest, with JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all posting better-than-expected profits. Shares of JPMorgan and Citigroup were under pressure, however, after reporting declines in trading sales.
One expert noted that, of the 30 S&P 500 companies that have reported, 80% have beat on the bottom line.
He added these companies have shown 15% earnings growth and 6.2% sales growth.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note jumped Friday, lowering yields to 2.33% from Thursday’s 2.36%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gained 39 cents to $46.47 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices boosted $9.50 to $1,226.80 U.S. an ounce.
