Canada's main stock index opened higher on Friday, after a softer-than-expected U.S. January inflation data strengthened hopes for the Federal Reserve to cut rates.
The TSX recovered from Thursday’s plunge, climbing 211.04 points to begin Friday’s session at 32,676.32. On the week so far, the index has gained 205 points, or 0.6%.
The Canadian dollar rebuilt 0.05 cents at 73.51 cents U.S.
Agnico Eagle reported quarterly profit above estimates on higher gold prices. Air Canada forecast 2026 core profit marginally above estimates. Agnico shares leaped $7.77, or 2.8%, to $287.39, while those in the “Maple Leaf airline” found $1.11, or 5.7%, to $20.63.
Markets will be shuttered Monday, in Canada, for Family Day, in the U.S., for Presidents’ Day.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange restocked 12.42 points, or 1.3%, to 995.63, but remained down for the week by 20.7 points, or 2.04%.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green in the first hour, led by gold, better 3.4%, materials, up 2.5%, and information technology jumped 1.7%.
The four laggards were weighed most by real-estate, slipping 1.5%, telecoms, off 1.3%, and consumer staples, regressing 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 was relatively unchanged on Friday and was pacing for a losing week as a key consumer inflation report failed to ignite a meaningful rally.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased 84.01 points to 49,367.97.
The broader index dropped 5.53 points to 6,827.23.
The NASDAQ skidded 67.96 points to 22,529.19.
The three major averages are on track for weekly losses. The S&P 500 and 30-stock Dow are both off more than 1%, and the tech-heavy
NASDAQ is set for a roughly 2% decline in the period.
Fears that artificial intelligence would disrupt revenue potential in various industries rattled the market this week, spreading into notable areas such as the real estate, trucking, software and financial services.
Financial stocks Charles Schwab have fallen 11% while Morgan Stanley was down 7% this week, , while software stocks like Workday is down 10% in the period. Shares of commercial real estate firm CBRE have lost 19% week to date.
Those fears widened to the media industry as well, hitting media stocks such as Walt Disney and Netflix. Disney shares have lost 5% on the week, while Netflix shares have dropped 7%.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the consumer price index — which measures the costs for goods and services in the U.S. economy — rose 0.2% in January, reflecting a gain of 2.4% on an annualized basis. The inflation gauge was expected to show a 0.3% increase on a month-over-month basis and a 2.5% advance from a year earlier, according to economists polled by Dow Jones.
When excluding volatile food and energy prices, core CPI came in line with expectations at 0.3% on the month and 2.5% year over year.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 4.06% from Thursday’s 4.10%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid five cents to $62.79 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices tumbled $75.00 to $5,023.40 U.S. an ounce.
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