The Toronto stock market gained back some lost ground Friday after worries about the future of U.S. economic stimulus drove the TSX lower over the previous two sessions.
The S&P/TSX composite index progressed 61.66 points to close Friday at 12,701.63
The Canadian dollar capped off a rough week by falling 0.23 to 97.94 cents U.S.
The base metals sector was up while March copper was down two cents at $3.53 U.S. a pound after losing almost 10 cents over the previous two sessions. Lundin Mining climbed 26 cents to $4.86 while Sherritt International gained 17 cents to $5.59.
The energy sector prospered and Cenovus Energy improved by 41 cents to $32.78.
Lift was also provided by the financial sector, as traders look ahead to earnings from most of the big Canadian banks next week. Scotiabank was up 42 cents to $60.34.
Telecoms also advanced with Rogers Communications ahead 68 cents to $48.85.
The gold sector was up as Iamgold Corp. fell 36 cents to $7.49 while Goldcorp Inc. rose 31 cents to $33.22.
After the markets closed Thursday, fertilizer giant Agrium Inc., reported quarterly net earnings of $354 million, or $2.34 per share, beating expectations of $2.02 a share. Sales were $3.26 billion, in line with expectations and its shares fell $5.61, or 5.2%, to $103.14.
The company is embroiled in a proxy fight with its largest shareholder, Jana Partners LLC, which holds a 6.5% stake in Agrium. It wants Agrium to split its retail division, which sells seeds, fertilizers and other products to farmers, from its wholesale segment.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada told us this morning that consumer prices rose 0.5% in the 12 months to January, following a 0.8% increase in December. The agency also reported that, on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index decreased 0.1% in January after posting no change in December.
What’s more, retail sales ended a five-month winning streak by declining 2.1% in December. Excluding sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales decreased 0.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 10.71 points to 1,144.68
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive on the day, led by energy, roaring ahead 1.2%, while the metals and mining group surged 1.1%, and utilities clicked 0.9%.
The two laggards were information technology, down 0.7%, and materials, skidding 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks bounced back Friday, with blue chips jumping more than 100 points on the heels of better-than-expected results from Hewlett-Packard and AIG.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 119.95 points to finish at 14,000.60
The S&P 500 index gained 13.18 points to 1,515.60. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite tacked on 30.33 points to 3,161.82
Friday's gains follow a selling streak that marked the biggest two-day drop for U.S. stocks this year. The Dow ended the week slightly higher, but the S&P 500 and NASDAW closed the week down. The latter two indices experienced their worst week of 2013.
Despite the recent losses, the Dow is still up nearly 6% since the beginning of the year, the S&P 500 has gained 5% and the NASDAQ is up almost 4%.
Hewlett-Packard was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 Friday. Shares rose 14% after the company posted better-than-expected results late Thursday.
HP's first-quarter profit fell 11% from a year ago, and sales declined 6%, but expectations were so low that the figures easily trumped forecasts.
AIG also reported better-than-expected earnings late Thursday, pushing the stock up 2%.
Shares of WebMD spiked more than 20% after the company's restructuring plan started to show results.
Abercrombie & Fitch shares dropped after the retailer said sales at stores open more than one year dropped in the fourth quarter.
Shares of Texas Instruments popped after the company increased its dividend and announced share buybacks.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury were higher, pushing yields down to 1.97% from Thursday’s 1.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 50 cents to $93.34 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $1.30 to $1,577.30 U.S. an ounce.
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