Stocks maintained gains in Canada’s largest centre, led by modest gains for its heavyweight financial and energy sectors in a broad rally that helped put it on track for a 0.7% gain for the week.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index grew 42.3 points to greet noon hour at 16,116.60
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.03 cents to 78.69 cents U.S.
U.S. crude prices hit their highest in more than two years as the shutdown at TransCanada Corp’s Keystone pipeline continued to cut deliveries to storage facilities.
TransCanada shares, which had fallen sharply earlier in the week, were up 0.4% at $63.13.
Teck Resources gained 1.5% to $29.96 as copper prices headed toward a one-month high, while Barrick Gold fell 2% to $17.97 as gold prices dipped.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange deleted 0.2 points to 792.58
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, as energy and consumer discretionary stocks grew 0.7% each, with information technology zoomed 0.6%.
The two laggards were gold, down 0.7%, and materials, off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities rose on Friday as investors placed bets on a strong holiday shopping season.
The Dow Jones industrial average hiked 55.6 points toward the end of Friday trading to 23,581.78, with Visa leading advancers on the 30-stock index.
The S&P 500 picked up 6.69 points to 2,603.77, with energy as the best-performing sector. Energy stocks were boosted by a rise in crude prices. Macy's was among the best-performing stocks in the index.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 20.29 points on top of Wednesday’s all-time high, to 6,887.65, as shares of Amazon climbed 1.8% to a record.
Equities were set to finish the shortened trading week with modest gains.
The S&P 500 and Dow were on track to rise 0.7% entering Friday's shortened session, while the NASDAQ was on track to post a 1.1% weekly gain.
Long lines of people began forming by Thursday afternoon outside of retailers like Best Buy and Target, among others, as shoppers got ready for Black Friday. Digital sales were also robust, according to Adobe Analytics, which said U.S. consumers had already spent more than $1.52 billion online by 5 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving evening.
Shares of Macy's, Nordstrom and Kohl's all traded higher. Overall, traditional retail stocks have taken a hit this year as more people shift to online shopping outlets, helping Amazon increase its market share.
U.S. markets were closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. Equity markets will adjourn at 1 p.m. EST, while the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recommend a 2 p.m. EST close for bond markets.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note lost ground, raising yields to 2.34% from Wednesday’s 2.32%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices improved 85 cents a barrel to $58.87 U.S.
Gold prices fell $4.30 to $1,287.90 U.S. an ounce.
