Stocks in Toronto opened higher on Friday, boosted by the heavyweight financial and energy sectors as shares of oil companies were lifted by the higher price of crude.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 67.68 points to begin the week’s last session at 15,738.30
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.16 cents at 76.45 cents U.S.
RBC raised the rating on Intact Financial to outperform from sector perform.
Intact shares gained $1.60, or 1.6%, to $99.72.
CIBC initiates coverage on Slate Office REIT with neutral rating. Slate units were up two cents to $12.55.
The U.S. Justice Department says the chief executive of a Vancouver-based company appeared in a Washington state court on Thursday in the first U.S. case in which a company has been targeted for providing criminal drug cartels with the technology to evade law enforcement
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that foreign investors resumed their investment in Canadian securities by adding $5.7 billion to their holdings in January. Meanwhile, Canadian investment in foreign securities totaled $13.3 billion, a second consecutive month of strong acquisitions.
Elsewhere, manufacturing sales decreased 1.0% to $54.9 billion in January. Declines in the motor vehicles, the aerospace product and parts, as well as the primary metal industries were responsible for the overall drop.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked up 0.8 points to 828.08
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups moved higher, led by financials, up 0.6%, while health-care and industrials each advanced 0.5%.
Only consumer discretionaries lost ground, and only 0.02%, while gold stocks were unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks climbed on Friday despite continuing turmoil within the Trump administration.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 72.88 points to 24,946.54, with American Express as the best-performing stock in the index.
The S&P 500 regained 9.7 points to 2,757.02, with financials as the best-performing sector.
The NASDAQ composite Index recouped 23.26 points to 7,505
In corporate news, Adobe Systems reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, sending its stock up more than 3%.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that President Donald Trump decided to remove national security advisor H.R. McMaster from the U.S. administration. The White House has, however, gone onto deny that any changes are set to emerge within the National Security Council.
CBS News reported on Friday that White House chief of staff John Kelly could depart the administration as early as today.
The news comes a few days after Trump relieved Rex Tillerson of his duties as secretary of state. It also comes more than a week after Gary Cohn resigned as the National Economic Council's director.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said housing starts declined 7% in February, a bigger-than-expected fall. Building permits, meanwhile, fell 7.7% last month. Other data set for release Friday include consumer sentiment and the U.S. Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell back, raising yields to 2.85% from Thursday’s 2.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost three cents a barrel to $61.16 U.S.
Gold prices five dollars to $1,312.80 U.S. an ounce.
