Markets in Toronto rallied Friday to end what had been a generally negative week, as consumer stocks provided the biggest lift.
The TSX gained 104.96 points to finish Friday at 35,305.31. On the week, the index climbed out of its cave, gaining 30 points, or 0.9%.
The Canadian dollar was higher 0.07 cents to 70.65 cents U.S.
The ?consumer discretionary index rose with fashion retailer Aritzia up $11.07, or 7.4%, to $160.05, ?leading gains on the TSX, after beating first-quarter revenue estimates.
Shopify ?came off its crest, losing 95 cents, to $173.51, after brokerage Stifel upgraded the e-commerce platform's rating to "buy" from "hold".
In company news, industrial valve maker Velan posted an adjusted net loss in the first quarter as lower volumes and higher provisions hit profitability. Velan shares jumped 69 cents, or 4.3%, to $16.89.
In consumer staples, Metro gained $2.08, or 2.3%, to $93.64, while Empire Company climbed 92 cents, or 1.9%, to $49.02.
On the trade front, Prime Minister Mark Carney told a televised business forum that Saudi Arabia could help Canadian mining firms develop. He also met Amin Nasser, head of state oil giant Saudi Aramco, for talks deepening cooperation.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported employment was little changed in June (+18,000; +0.1%) and the employment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%.
The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.5%.
In May, the total value of building permits issued in Canada decreased $215.0 million (-1.7%) to reach $12.4 billion.
The decline in construction intentions was due to the non-residential sector (-6.1%) and tempered by the residential sector (+1.2%).
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange restored 7.64 points to 905.98, for a loss on the week of 32 points, or 3.4%.
Eight of the 12 subgroups fell Friday, weighed most by telecoms, sliding 0.7%, while gold and real-estate each gave up 0.5%
The four gainers were led by consumer discretionaries, up 1.6%, while consumer staples advanced 1.2%, and financials were richer 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose on Friday, bolstered by a couple of Big Tech names, to notch a weekly gain.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 149.72 points to 52,637.13.
The much broader index took on 31.61 points to close at 7,575.24.
The NASDAQ Composite increased 74.72 points to 26,281.61.
Chip stocks were weak as South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix made its U.S. debut Friday, opening at $170 on the NASDAQ and last trading up around 15%.
The American depository receipts of the company, which exploded higher this year on the massive demand for memory, were priced at $149 each. Some traders worry the new offering may compete for investor funds with U.S. memory stocks like Micron Technology.
Micron shed more than 2%, while Marvell Technology and Intel dropped more than 3%. Shares of Lam Research fell more than 1%.
Nvidia supported the S&P 500's move higher, rising more than 3%. Meta Platforms was another bright spot in tech, as the stock jumped 6% and was on pace for its best week since early 2024.
That’s after Bank of America maintained its buy rating of the name and said an internal memo that was reviewed by Reuters suggests that Meta is potentially improving its artificial intelligence cost structure.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dipped, raising keeping yields to 4.56% from Thursday’s 4.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded 46 cents to $71.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices retreated $27.20 to $4,113.60 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
