Stocks in Toronto opened broadly higher on Friday, led by energy and mining companies, which got a lift from higher commodity prices, and Bombardier Inc.
The S&P/TSX composite index acquired 40.11 points to open Friday at 15,336.42
The Canadian dollar squeezed ahead 0.05 cents to 79.52 cents U.S.
Influential proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis is recommending that shareholders vote against Barrick Gold Corp's executive compensation plan, while flagging "serious concerns" with the executive chairman's pay. Barrick shares began Friday up 32 cents, or 2.1%, to $15.95.
Bombardier soared 15 cents, or 5.6%, to $2.75.
The president of the media unit of BCE Inc, Canada's biggest communications company, parted ways with the company on Thursday with immediate effect, two weeks after he apologized for interfering in news coverage. BCE shares eased back 10 cents to $54.56.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target on Goldcorp to $32.50 from $31.50. Goldcorp shares hiked 53 cents, or 2.2%, to $24.19.
CIBC reinstated coverage on Whitecap Resources with an outperform rating. Whitecap shares gained 25 cents, or 1.7%, to $15.32.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 29,000 jobs in March, mostly part-time. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.8%.
Elsewhere, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said new housing starts totaled 179,016 units in March compared to 180,236 in February.
Finance Minister Joe Oliver said on Thursday private sector economists estimate that Canada's economy will grow at about 2% this year and will pick up after that
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 1.97 points to 692.97.
Seven of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher at the outset, with gold up 2.1%, materials advancing 1%, and health-care ahead 0.9%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by telecoms, down 0.4%, global base metals off 0.3%, and discretionary stocks sliding 0.2%.
Utilities were unchanged at the open.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range in early-morning Friday as investors eyed the start of earnings season and the rising dollar.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 34 points at the open to 17,992.73, led by General Electric and Merck the greatest laggard.
The S&P 500 index picked up 13.43 points to 2,094.61, with energy leading eight sectors higher and utilities lagging, with industrials leading advancers and materials the only laggard.
The NASDAQ index moved higher 4.40 points to 4,978.97
Investors are also keeping an eye on General Electric, as its shares rose more than 8% in early-morning trading after the company announced a major restructuring of GE Capital, including the sale of most of the unit's assets, and will institute a $50-billion U.S. stock buyback program with proceeds from the move.
Another company investors will be eyeing is Apple, as it began taking pre-orders of its smartwatch on Friday.
The corporate earnings outlook for 2015 seems bleak, as first-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 index are expected to come in 4.7%lower, while second-quarter earnings are expected to lower 2.1%.
While some companies have already reported their quarterly earnings, many analysts believe earnings season will officially begin next week.
On the economic data front, U.S. home prices for the month of March fell 0.3%, in line with analysts' expectations.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 1.93% from Thursday’s 1.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices strengthened 47 cents to $51.26 U.S.
Gold prices recovered $15.70 to $1,209.30 U.S.
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