Canada's main stock index opened higher on Friday, driven by gains in energy and health-care sectors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 133.25 points, to begin the Friday session at 14,298.46
The Canadian dollar was down 0.07 cents at 73.34 U.S.
Aphria said that Green Growth Brands’ proposed $2.8-billion all-stock hostile bid undervalued the company.
Aphria shares galloped 91 cents, or 12%, to $8.48, while rival Canopy Growth took on 23 cents to $36.68.
Eight Capital cut the target price on Husky Energy to $20.00 from $22.00. Shares in Husky added 12 cents to $14.22, while Canadian Natural Resources gained 62 cents, or 1.9%, to $32.89.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved higher 4.5 points to 541.78
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher to begin the day, as energy gushed 2.1%, health-care tacked on 1.8%, and industrials were better by 1.2%.
The one laggard was in gold, down 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded slightly higher on Friday as Wall Street concludes a roller-coaster week.
The Dow Jones Industrials eked out gains of 8.65 points to 23,147.47, led by gains in Procter & Gamble and Pfizer.
The S&P 500 inched forward 1.21 points to 2,490.04, as real estate and consumer staples outperformed.
The NASDAQ faded 1.54 points to 6,577.95, boosted by gains in Amazon, Apple and Alphabet.
On Thursday, the Dow closed 260 points higher after falling as much as 611 points. That reversal marked the 30-stock index’s biggest intraday turnaround in eight years. The S&P 500 also posted solid gains after declining more than 2% while the NASDAQ erased a 3% loss.
Thursday’s gains added to Wednesday’s historic rally in which the major indexes had their best day in nearly 10 years.
Stocks are still, however, on track for their worst December performance since 1931. The S&P 500 was down 9.8% for the month through Thursday’s close while the Dow has lost 9.4%.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury shot higher, lowering yields to 2.74% from Thursday’s 2.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 43 cents to $45.04 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost 40 cents to $1,280.70 U.S. an ounce.
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