Stocks in Canada’s largest market kept their record-setting momentum rolling into the close of trade before the Labour Day long weekend, powered almost exclusively by resource concerns.
The TSX Composite retained 26.31 points to finish Friday at 20,821.43, another intraday record. On the week, the gain was 176 points, or 0.86%.
The Canadian dollar added 0.15 cents to 79.81 cents U.S.
North American markets are closed Monday for Labour Day
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.
Gold carried the day for the positives, with Iamgold hurtling higher 12 cents, or 3.2%, to $3.01, and B2Gold up 20 cents, or 4.2%, to $5.00.
Among other resource stocks, Interfor Corp. leaped $1.55, or 5.7%, to $29.00, while Dundee Precious Metals muscled up 33 cents, or 4.3%, to $7.93.
In the tech field, HUT 8 Mining took on $2.14, or 19.2%, to $13.31, while Nuvei popped $1.66, or 1.1%, to $153.42.
On the flip side, health-care stocks like Canopy Growth sagged 67 cents, or 3.1%, to $21.22, while Cronos Group staggered 15 cents, or 1.8%, to $8.14.
Energy stocks also fared poorly, with PrairieSky Royalty dropping 28 cents, or 2%, to $13.74, and Crescent Point Energy doffed eight cents, or 1.7%, to $4.51.
In consumer staples, Village Farms International lost 23 cents, or 1.9%, to $11.67, while Alimentation Couche-Tard stumbled 82 cents, or 1.6%, to $50.42.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange leaped 15.52 points, or 1.7%, to 923.22, for a gain on the week of more than 31.7 points, or 3.56%.
Still, eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, with health-care staggering 1.5%, energy off 0.5%, and consumer staples falling 0.4%.
The four gainers were gold, brighter 2.3%, materials, stronger 1.9%, and information technology, up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated on Friday and the S&P 500 slipped from a record high after the August jobs report came in short of expectations, showing the impact of the delta-fueled COVID resurgence.
The 30-stock index dropped 74.73 points to 35,369.09
The S&P 500 lost 1.52 points to 4,535.43.
The NASDAQ Composite improved upon Thursday’s record close by 32.34 points, to 15,363.52.
The NASDAQ was the best performing index for the week, rising 1.5%. The S&P 500 gained roughly 0.6%, while the Dow shed about 87 points, or 0.2%.
Modest gains for major tech stocks including Apple and Nvidia supported the market indexes. Home builder stocks including Lennar and PulteGroup were under pressure, along with cruise stocks.
American Express was the worst performing component in the Dow as financials stocks struggled.
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.
In a press conference on Friday, President Joe Biden touted the average monthly job gains since he took office and lower weekly jobless claims, and called for more vaccinations and for Congress to pass infrastructure and budget bills.
Biden also said states should consider using federal relief money to extend enhanced unemployment benefits, which expire this week.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys sagged, raising yields to 1.32% from Thursday’s 1.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 73 cents to $69.26 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $19.10 to $1,830.60 U.S. an ounce.
