The Toronto stock market was higher Friday at the end of a volatile week that saw the TSX sink further into negative territory for the year amid a new round of concern about the pace of the global economic recovery.
The S&P/TSX index was positive 69.21 points to end the week at 12,065.55
The Canadian dollar shed 0.02 cents at 97.46 cents U.S.
Gains on the TSX were largely due to a rise in the base metals group while copper remained stuck at 18-month lows, with the May contract down six cents to $3.15 U.S. a pound. First Quantum Minerals rose 55 cents to $16.66 and Turquoise Hill Resources rose 49 cents to $5.82.
Consumer discretionary stocks were ahead with auto parts giant Magna International ahead $1.47 to $57.60.
Industrials were also supportive as Canadian National Railways gained $1.48 to $98.48.
The gold sector is down about 37% year to date as gold producers sustained sharp losses amid sharply rising costs just to get the precious metal out of the ground.
The gold sector is now at levels last seen in 2005, when gold prices hovered around $500 U.S. an ounce.
Alamos Gold rose 69 cents, or 6.2%, to $11.85.
The energy sector declined, while Suncor Energy slipped 20 cents to $28.13.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that the Consumer Price Index rose 1.0% in the 12 months to March, following a 1.2% increase in February, mostly due to falling gasoline prices.
The agency also said that wholesale sales were unchanged at $48.8 billion in February, after rising 0.5% in January
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.13 points to 939.07
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive on the day, led by metals and mining issues, up 2.3%, gold, up 1.4%, and health-care, ahead 1.3%.
Only energy finished in the red, and down 0.3% at that.
ON WALLSTREET
The U.S. stock market wrapped up the worst week of 2013, with all three major indexes dropping more than 2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fought its way higher by 10.37 points to end Friday at 14,547.50
The S&P 500 index moved up 13.64 points to 1,555.25. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite recovered 39.69 points to 3,206.06
The Dow was down slightly for most of the day, but closed slightly higher, as investors grew concerned about the health of the tech sector. Shares of IBM, which carries the biggest weighting in the Dow, dropped more than 6% Friday following weak earnings.
General Electric spooked investors by noting its big backlog of equipment and services. Its stock fell 4%.
Yet, appliance maker Honeywell reported an increase in first-quarter earnings, pushing up its stock price by 4%.
McDonald's shares dropped after the hamburger maker noted a decline in same-store sales.
But Chipotle rose more than 10%. The Mexican food chain reported earnings that showed increases in revenue, income and same-store sales.
The contrasting reports continued in the tech sector. While IBM fell drastically, other tech stocks fared better. Microsoft got a big boost in its latest earnings report from strong Windows 8 sales.
Google earnings topped estimates, even as the search giant faces challenges with how to make money off mobile ads and its Motorola smartphone unit.
Analysts expect earnings for S&P 500 companies to rise by 2% for the first quarter, according to S&P Capital IQ. But earnings season is far from over. So far, 104 S&P 500 companies have reported, with 70 beating forecasts, 23 missing and 11 ending up in line.
Shares of Apple, which have been in freefall lately, closed slightly lower, hitting another new 52-week low.
Meanwhile, Dell's stock slid more than 3% following reports that Blackstone had dropped its bid to buy the PC company.
Shares of PepsiCo and Mondelez rose 2% and 5% respectively.
A mega-beer merger received the Department of Justice's blessing. The DOJ agreed to allow the merger of Anheuser Busch InBev and Grupo Modelo after Modelo sells certain U.S. assets to Constellation Brands.
SeaWorld debuted Friday with the amusement park operator's stock jumping more than 25%.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury stumbled, raising yields to 1.70% from Thursday’s 1.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices inched up 17 cents to $87.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $7.50 to $1,400 U.S. an ounce
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