Canada’s main stock index opened higher on Friday as gains in financial stocks and shares of Rogers Communications offset declines in energy companies.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index repaired 16.76 points from Thursday’s negative reading, to begin Friday at 15,471.18
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.32 cents to 78.64 cents U.S.
Rogers Communications’ first-quarter profit topped analysts’ forecasts as it signed up more wireless postpaid and internet customers.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on Rogers stock to $69.00 from $66.00.
Rogers galloped out of the gate, gaining $3.06, or 5.3%, to $61.01.
JPMorgan Chase has tested a new blockchain platform for issuing financial instruments with the National Bank of Canada and other large firms, they said, seeking to streamline origination, settlement, interest rate payments and other processes.
National shares gained 13 cents to $59.35.
Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services on Thursday recommended the Crescent Point Energy Corp shareholders vote for activist investor Cation Capital’s two nominations to the oil and gas producer’s board.
Crescent Point shares dipped 18 cents, or 1.7%, to $10.55.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that retail trade increased 0.4% in February to $49.8 billion, mostly due to higher sales at new car dealers and general merchandise stores.
The Consumer Price Index rose 2.3% on a year-over-year basis in March, following a 2.2% increase in February. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index was up 0.1% in March, after increasing 0.2% in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 1.36 points to 803.46
Eight of 12 TSX subgroups were higher, with telecoms shooting higher 3.3%, while financials prospered 1.2%, and consumer discretionary stocks picked up 1.1%.
The four laggards were weighed most by energy, down 1.6%, gold, off 1.3%, and materials, dipping 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks slipped on Friday as a decline in Apple pushed the technology sector lower. A rise in interest rates also kept a lid on equities.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average swooned 70.17 points to 24,594.72, with Apple as the worst-performing stock in the index.
The S&P 500 lost 7.25 points to 2,685.88, with tech sliding nearly 1%.
The NASDAQ Composite index faded 44.09 points to 7,193.96
Apple shares fell more than 3% after Morgan Stanley said the company's iPhone sales for the June quarter will disappoint Wall Street. The stock had already fallen more than 1% for the week heading into Friday's session.
The decline in Apple offset a 4% gain in General Electric. The industrial giant reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations and reaffirmed its outlook for the rest of 2018. Honeywell also posted stronger-than-expected earnings on Friday. Its stock rose 1.4%.
About 16% of the S&P 500 has released its quarterly results, with 81.5% of those companies posting better-than-expected earnings, according to FactSet. Next week will be the busiest week of the season, with more than a third of the S&P 500 set to report. Some of the companies scheduled to release their results include tech giants Alphabet, Intel and Microsoft.
In economic news, several members of the Federal Reserve's policymaking committee are scheduled to speak Friday, including San Francisco Fed President and Fed Governor Lael Brainard. Investors will look for clues on the central bank's next monetary policy moves.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note faltered, raising yields to 2.94% from Thursday’s 2.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 63 cents a barrel to $67.70 U.S.
Gold prices fell $9.50 to $1,339.30 U.S. an ounce.
