The TSX enjoyed a triple-digit bounce Friday as commodity prices rebounded amid improved investor sentiment over a surprising move by European leaders to take aggressive steps toward solving their debt crisis.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index remained in the green 171.86 points, or 1.5%, to end the day, week, month and first half of 2012 at 11,596.56
The Canadian dollar grew 1.42 cents to 98.22 cents U.S.
Canadian markets will be closed Monday in observance of Canada Day.
The energy index was up on the TSX, with shares in Suncor Energy up 4.1%, or $1.15, to $29.45.
Among mining issues, shares in Teck Resources ahead 4%, or $1.21, at $31.50.
While rising commodity stocks buoyed the TSX, Research In Motion was a weight, though the already eroded valuation of the company means it doesn’t have the market heft it once did. Still, it helped send the information technology sector well into the red
The BlackBerry maker reported dismal earnings results after the close of markets on Thursday, with an adjusted loss of 37 cents per share that widely missed the three-cent-per-share loss analysts had expected. It also announced another delay to the launch of its new smartphones.
The Waterloo, Ont.,-based company also said it would lay off a third of its workforce — or about 5,000 employees — to contain costs as it pushes ahead with a complete revamp of the BlackBerry operating system. Shares in RIM fell 20.6%, or $1.95, to $7.51 by the closing bell.
In Canadian corporate news, Canadian Pacific Railway named Hunter Harrison as its new president and chief executive officer, the result of changes pushed through by the company’s largest shareholder.
Harrison’s appointment was widely expected after a high-profile battle waged against the Calgary-based railway’s former leadership by William Ackman, head of a New York-based investment fund. Shares added $1.13, or 1.5%, to $74.65.
A consortium that includes Bombardier Transportation has received the green light to supply an additional 210 rail cars worth $1.3 billion U.S. to the Greater Paris commuter network.
As a consortium member responsible for a third or the order, the Berlin-based division of Quebec’s Bombardier Inc. will realize $417 million U.S. from the order, the company said Friday. Bombardier shares gained four cents to $4.02.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that real gross domestic product surged 0.3% in April, following a narrow 0.1% gain in March. Most of the April increase was attributable to mining and oil and gas extraction and wholesale trade.
The agency also reported that its Industrial Product Price Index was flat last month from April. Price increases for motor vehicles and lumber were offset mainly by a 2.1% decline in petroleum and coal products. The Raw Materials Price Index descended with crude oil prices to slid 1% in May.
Also on Friday, the Conference Board of Canada said that its help-wanted index gained 1.1 percentage points in May. That continued an upward trend that began late last year, but one that has weakened recently, partly due to a sizable decline in the index in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange jumped 27.14 points, or 2.3%, to 1,191.61. The Nasdaq Canada index subtracted 1.20 points to 355.43
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive throughout the day. Metals and mining led the parade, up 4.6%, while global base metals zoomed 3.3%, and energy was 2.5% stronger.
The lone holdout was in information technology, the sector of RIM, which retreated 3.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks soared Friday, with the Dow jumping more than 200 points, as investors cheered a deal among European leaders to help struggling euro-zone banks.
The Dow Jones Industrials galloped ahead 277.83 points, or 2.2%, to close at 12,880.10
The S&P 500 hiked 31.49 points, or 2.4%, to 1,360.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index spiked 85.56 points, or 3%, to 2,935.05.
As noted, Friday also marked the end of the first half of the year. The three major indexes were on pace to close out with gains between 3% and 9%.
Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs all rose between 2% and 5%.
JPMorgan, which is still reeling from news that its trading losses could jump as high as 9%, missed the rally, and Barclays, which is under pressure for manipulating LIBOR rates, was down 5%
Home builder KB Home reported a second-quarter loss Friday that was smaller than expected. Shares were sharply higher Friday.
Nike shares tumbled nearly 8%, a day after the company reported quarterly earnings that missed analyst estimates.
Shares of Research In Motion fell 18%, (see above) after the BlackBerry-maker reported a wider-than-expected loss Thursday, and another delay of its long-awaited BlackBerry 10 operating system.
Ford shares slid nearly 5%. On Thursday, the automaker lowered its guidance based on poor performance by its international divisions.
Shares of gun manufacturing company Smith & Wesson surged after the company's earnings beat profit expectations by a wide margin.
At the two-day European Union summit in Brussels, E.U. leaders struck a "breakthrough" deal early Friday to ease the recapitalization of banks, which should help draw the euro-zone back from the brink of its debt crisis.
The deal includes a mechanism to inject capital directly into banks, which may reduce what one bond analyst called "the bank-sovereign negative feedback loop."
The expert went on to say the loop starts when a nation borrows to recapitalize its troubled banks, which then increases the country's debt, pushes up bond yields, reduces bond values and forces banks to require even more capital.
Economically speaking, the Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index for June came in at 52.9, slightly below expectations of 53, but up from 52.7 last month. Any reading above 50 signifies expansion in the region's manufacturing sector.
The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index for June came in below expectations at 73.2, compared with 74.1 in May.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury swooned, pushing the yield up to 1.66% from Thursday’s 1.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for August delivery rebounded $7.06 to $84.75 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery jumped $45.90 to $1,596.50 U.S. an ounce.
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