Canadian equities inched higher on Friday as a rise in commodity prices lifted mining stocks, although gains on the main index were capped by a dismal U.S. jobs report that sparked fears of slowing global growth.
The TSX Composite remained above water 12.88 points to reach noon Friday at 20,808, another intraday record.
The Canadian dollar hiked 0.28 cents to 79.94 cents U.S.
Canadian equities have scaled record highs in recent weeks as investors shrugged off sluggish macroeconomic data, betting on central banks to stick to easy money policies.
Nexgen Energy jumped 23 cents, or 3.4%, to $7.03 after RBC Capital Markets raised its price target on the stock.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 8.21 points, to 915.91
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower by noon, with health-care staggering 1.1%, energy off 1%, and consumer staples falling 0.5%.
The four gainers were gold, shinier 2.5%, materials, stronger 1.9%, and information technology, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell slightly on Friday morning after the August jobs report came in short of expectations, showing the impact of the Delta-fueled COVID resurgence.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 69.06 points to 35,374.76
The S&P 500 lost 3.31 points to 4,533.64.
The NASDAQ Composite improved upon Thursday’s record close by 21.73 points, to 15,352.91.
Semiconductor stock Broadcom was one of the best performing stocks in early trading, rising 15% after the company’s fiscal third quarter earnings came in above expectations.
Home builder stocks including Lennar and PulteGroup were under pressure, and American Express was the worst performing stock in the Dow.
Non-farm payrolls increased by 235,000 in August, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by Down Jones were expecting 720,000 jobs.
The report marks a significant slowdown from July’s revised number of 1.053 million and comes as the delta variant of COVID-19 has led to health restrictions being put back in place in some states and cities.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys sagged, raising yields to 1.33% from Thursday’s 1.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 37 cents to $69.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $24.00 to $1,835.50 U.S. an ounce.
