Stocks in Toronto climbed on Friday as shares of energy and resource companies rose alongside oil and gold prices, putting the broader market on track for a fifth week of gains in a row.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index surged 68.67 points to reached noon hour at 15,810.87
Toronto stocks are up 0.5% for the week so far, putting the index on track for its fifth consecutive week in positive territory. That is the longest streak since a five-week run that ended in November 2014.
The Canadian dollar faded 0.15 cents to 80.03 cents U.S.
Energy stocks were in the green, and Canadian Natural Resources was among the biggest lifts on the index, up 0.9% at $41.04, while Cenovus Energy advanced 2.1% to $12.16.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added strength, while Teck Resources was up 2.5% at $29.20.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Mexican counterpart pledged on Thursday to work toward a renegotiation of NAFTA even as talks taking place in the United States turned sour due to hard-line U.S. demands.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stayed afloat 4.77 points to greet noon at 795.41.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups had charged ahead by noon, as information technology, energy and telecoms each advanced 0.7%.
Only health-care remained negative, slipping 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks reached record highs on Friday as investors bet on another strong earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 37.91 points to 22,878.92 and notched an all-time high, with American Express contributing the most to the gains.
The S&P 500 gained back 4.83 points to 2,555.76, stepping back from intraday highs, with information technology and materials leading advancers.
The NASDAQ recouped 20.524 points to 6,611.75, another record.
Corporate earnings for the S&P 500 have grown 6.1%, 15.5% and 10.8% in the fourth quarter of last year and the first and second quarters of 2017, respectively.
Experts say earnings season has gotten off to a good start, with 87% of the companies that have reported topping bottom-line expectations
Other analysts were quoted as saying earnings are expected to grow by 4% for the third quarter
Shares of Bank of America traded 0.9% higher after reporting earnings and revenue that topped expectations. JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup also posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results on Thursday.
Streaming giant Netflix is set to report its quarterly results Monday after the bell and Goldman Sachs is betting on a strong report.
Analysts at Goldman raised their price target on Netflix shares to $235 from $200 a share. Shares of Netflix advanced nearly 2%.
Wall Street also digested lighter-than-expected economic data in the form of inflation and retail sales numbers. The consumer price index rose 0.6% last month, below the expected gain of 0.7%. Retail sales, meanwhile, gained 1.6%.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained ground, lowering yields to 2.28% from Thurssday’s 2.32%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices strengthened 86 cents a barrel to $51.46 U.S.
Gold prices gained $5.90 to $1,302.40 U.S. an ounce
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