Canada's main stock index rose on Friday as commodities rallied and global worries about Britain voting to leave the European Union next week abated.
The S&P/TSX Composite held onto gains of 19.36 points to close Friday at 13,901.77
The Canadian dollar regained 0.49 cents to 77.59 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks suffered, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals lost 65 cents, or 2.2%, to $28.40
Consumer staples also fell as Metro lost 40 cents to $44.02, while Loblaw slid 47 cents to $68.62.
Metals climbed as Potash Corp. gained 37 cents, or 1.7%, to $21.82, while Canadian Natural Resources gained 59 cents, or 1.6%, to $37.79.
Among energy issues, Suncor gained 30 cents to $34.34, while TransCanada acquired 12 cents to $55.59.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that inflation increased 1.5% on a year-over-year basis in May, after increasing 1.7% in April. The agency adds that, on a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index increased 0.2% in May, matching the gain in April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.95 points to 715.36
Seven of the 13 TSX subgroups were lower, as utilities ditched 1.6%, health-care was off 1%, and consumer staples slipped 0.6%.
The half-dozen gainers were metals and mining, up 1.8%, energy, better by 1.4%, and real-estate, improving 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed lower Friday, with health care and tech stocks lagging, amid continued uncertainty ahead of next week's scheduled Brexit vote.
The Dow Jones Industrials faded 57.94 points to close the day and week at 17,675.16. Apple and Merck had the greatest negative impact.
The S&P 500 dropped 6.77 points at 2,071.22. Health care traded about 1% lower to lead S&P 500 decliners, followed by information technology.
The NASDAQ slid 44.58 points to 4,800.34
Apple briefly traded more than 2% lower after news intellectual property regulators in Beijing barred the tech company from selling models of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the city, citing strong similarity to an existing Chinese phone. Apple told media outlets it is appealing the ruling and that the phones are available for sale today in China.
Housing starts declined 0.3% in May, while building permits rose 0.7%
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell, raising yields to 1.61% from Thursday’s 1.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $1.93 a barrel to $48.14 U.S.
Gold prices regained $3.10 to $1,301.50 U.S. an ounce.
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