Canada's main stock index barely cleared breakeven on Friday, as the mining sector was dragged down by cooling metal prices and technology shares retreated, though the benchmark was still on track for its second straight week of gains.
The TSX index inched up 6.03 points to 33,034.95.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.1 cents to 71.83 cents U.S.
Endeavour Silver was the biggest loser on the TSX, falling 53 cents, or 3.3% to $15.56, after releasing its guidance for 2026.
Information technology fell with safety tech company Blackline Safety losing 41 cents, or 6%, to $6.40, a day after reporting fourth-quarter results.
Space technology firm MDA Space was a standout, jumping $4.20, or 13.2%, to $35.89. after Morgan Stanley upgraded its stock to "overweight" from "equal-weight"
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange handed over 0.22 points to 1,086.32.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose slightly on Friday but was still on pace for a losing week as traders digested the latest comments made by President Donald Trump related to the Federal Reserve and geopolitics.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 39.56 points to 49,402.88
The much-broader index gained 5.13 points to 6,949.60.
The NASDAQ edged up 7.76 points to 23,537.78.
The three major averages hit their session lows after Trump delivered remarks in the White House Friday, in which he said he’d rather have National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett stay in his current role and might not be chosen to become the next Fed chair.
The major averages are coming off a winning session thanks to gains in chip stocks. Taiwan Semiconductor led the advance after a blowout fourth-quarter report. Further, the U.S. and Taiwan reached a trade agreement in which Taiwanese chip and tech companies will invest at least $250 billion in production capacity in America.
Taiwan Semi and other chip stocks like Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices were higher Friday, offering support to the broader market.
Bank stocks were weak in the weekly period despite strong earnings as concerns around Trump’s call for a cap on on credit card interest rates persisted. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America were among the laggards, falling more than 4% and more than 5% week to date, respectively.
Hassett had been seen as a frontrunner to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May, but prediction markets showed former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh moved ahead in the race following the president’s remarks. Traders see Hassett as the more market-friendly option to replace Powell, with Wall Street expecting him to be more willing than Warsh to keep rates low.
Investors are preparing to close out a hectic week. They’ve been grappling with a slate of headlines out of Washington, running the gamut from heightened geopolitical risk in Iran and Greenland to worries over threats to the Federal Reserve’s independence.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury inched up, lowering yields to 4.21%, from Thursday’s 4.17%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 71 cents to $58.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices unloaded $35.60 to $4,639.
