Canada's main stock index opened higher on Friday with investors optimistic after the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve left room for further rate cuts this year.
The TSX Composite Index barreled ahead 131.87 points to kick off the week's last session at 29,453.43.
The Canadian dollar declined 0.14 cents to 72.48 cents U.S.
The TSX has been on a record-setting run this year and has gained over 19% year-to-date, outpacing the U.S. S&P 500 index's almost 13% rise.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported retail sales decreased 0.8% to $69.6 billion in July. Sales were down in eight of nine subsectors and were led by decreases at food and beverage retailers.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 4.38 points to 879.51.
All but three of the 12 subgroups were in plus territory, led by information technology, up 1.5%, financials, better by 0.7%, and utilities, up 0.5%
The three laggards were by telecoms, down 1.7%, real-estate, off 0.4%, and industrials, down 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Friday following a winning session that sent indexes to new records as the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates set in investors’ minds.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 93.52 points to end Thursday at 46,235.94
The S&P 500 index acquired 16.05 points to 6,648.01.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ popped 100.75 points to 22,571.47.
Stocks also got a boost this week after the Fed lowered its benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter percentage point, its first rate reduction since December.
The move was widely expected by markets, but stocks had a volatile session on the back of the decision after Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his press conference characterized the decision as a “risk management cut.”
Prices for 10-year Treasury faded a bit Friday. pushing yields up to 4.13% from Thursday’s 4.12%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 22 cents to $63.35 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices surged $17.90 to $3,696.20 U.S. an ounce.
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