Toronto's main stock index opened higher on Friday on hopes that central banks of the world's major economies are ready to step in to stabilize markets if pushed to the brink by the outcome of Greece's weekend elections.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index began Friday 51 points to 11,517.42
The Canadian dollar was down 0.11 of a cent to 97.67 cents U.S.
Among stocks to watch this morning, CIBC raised the target price on Cominar REIT to $25 from $24.50 on higher Q1 funds from operations; rating sector performer
Canccord Genuity cut the price target on MAG Silver to $16 from $18 on valuation, its rating a speculative buy.
On the economic front this morning, Statistics Canada told us that manufacturing sales fell 0.8% in April to $49.1 billion, the third decline in four months, mostly on the backs of decreases in sales of aerospace products, and petroleum and coal products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.68 points to 1,257.01. The Nasdaq Canada index eked up 1.87 points to 367.92
All but three of the Toronto subgroups were up to begin the week’s last session. Metals and mining stocks led the parade, up 1.5%, with energy the runner-up at 1%, and global base metals gaining 0.9%.
Gold weighed most heavily on the three laggards, down 0.4%. while health-care stocks slid 0.2% and real-estate ducked back 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened higher as central banks in Europe signaled they would provide more cash to help banks deal with the ongoing sovereign debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrials marched ahead 48.06 points to register at 12,699.97
In the Dow, 25 of the 30 stocks were gainers, with HP and Microsoft as leaders. Oil companies also faired well, as Alcoa and Chevron both edged up over 1%.
The S&P 500 was 5.45 points better, at 1,334.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index improved 13.14 points to 2,849.47
Shares of Apple edged higher after Bloomberg reported Apple would share in ad revenue from Chinese company Baidu. The company's search engine was added as part of a software upgrade for iPhones.
Shares of Microsoft Inc. rose following reports that the company bought social network Yammer for $1.2 billion U.S.
Early Friday, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the bank would "continue to supply liquidity to solvent banks where needed." He said strengthening European economies is crucial, and that it's time to implement plans to spur long-term growth.
Draghi's comments came one day after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said the central bank and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are working on new policies to provide funding to banks for "several years" at rates below current market rates.
Still, trading could be volatile Friday, as investors brace for the crucial Greek elections this Sunday.
The concern is that anti-austerity political parties in Greece will win enough seats in parliament to derail the bailout program secured earlier this year. This, in turn, could lead to Greece exiting the euro.
Outside of Greece, sky-high borrowing costs in Italy and Spain still have investors on edge.
Last week, Spain asked for €100 billion from the European Union to provide a buffer for its ailing banks. But the country was hit by a downgrade by rating agency Fitch last week and Moody's on Wednesday. Both agencies warned the country's debt is at risk for further downgrade into junk bond status.
The yields on Spanish 10-year bonds improved slightly Friday, falling to 6.95% from the high just above 7% early Thursday.
In the United States, reports are due Friday on manufacturing, industrial production and consumer sentiment.
Economically speaking, the Empire State Manufacturing Index plummeted to 2.3 in June, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, down from 17.1 in May. The index was expected to stand at 13.5, according to a consensus of economist forecasts from Briefing.com.
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for June is expected to come in at 77.0, down from 79.3 in the month prior.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 1.59% from Thursday’s 1.61%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil inched up nine cents to $84.00 U.S.
Gold futures for August delivery rose 0.4% to $1,626.50 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
