Equities in Canada’s largest market dropped some of their previous strength at the opening bell on Friday, extending gains for a fourth straight session, helped by strength in energy stocks and upbeat domestic retail sales data.
The TSX sifted off 48.24 points to begin Friday to 17,604.70
The Canadian dollar faltered 0.19 cents to 78.35 cents U.S.
BlackBerry missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue on Thursday, hit by poor demand for its cybersecurity products and QNX car software.
BlackBerry dumped 93 cents, or 8.9%, to $9.58.
CIBC cuts the rating on Acadian Timber to neutral from outperform.
Acadian gave up three cents to $16.33.
CIBC raised the target price on Stella-Jones to $54.00 from $52.00. Stella-Jones grabbed a penny to $46.48.
CIBC raises the rating on Western Forest Products to outperform from neutral. Western shares were stabled at $1.20.
From the economic platform, Statistics Canada reported retail sales edged up 0.4% to $54.6 billion in October, marking the sixth consecutive monthly increase since the record decline in April. The sales growth was led by motor vehicle and parts dealers.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nosed ahead 1.39 points to 818.32.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups began the session on the wrong foot, with real-estate and information technology sagging 0.8% each, while materials slid 0.7%.
The four gainers were led by energy, up 0.8%, while health-care added 0.3%, and utilities crept up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks slipped from record highs on Friday as lawmakers rushed to bridge differences on additional coronavirus stimulus measures.
The Dow Jones Industrials retreated 96.88 points from Thursday’s all-time highs to 30,206.49.
The S&P 500 erased 16.24 points to 3,706.24.
The NASDAQ retreated 16.2 points from Thursday’s record closing high, to 12,748.55.
The major averages are on track to post modest gains for the week. The S&P 500 is up 1.6% this week through Thursday’s close, heading for its fourth positive week in five. The Dow has gained 0.9% in this period, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ outperformed with a 3.1% rally for the week so far.
The stock market is expected to experience massive volume on Friday as Tesla’s historic entry into the S&P 500 is poised to occur based on prices at Friday’s close. There will be a rush of activity into the final bell and the S&P 500 will begin trading with Tesla as a member on Monday.
With a market capitalization of more than $600 billion after a 700% rally this year, the electric carmaker will be joining as the seventh-largest company in the index.
Tesla is being added to the benchmark in one fell swoop, marking the largest rebalancing of the S&P 500 in history. It’s estimated that passive funds tracking the S&P 500 will need to buy more than $85 billion of Tesla, while selling $85 billion of the rest of the index to make room for it. Shares of Tesla jumped as much as 4% to hit an all-time high on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Tesla inclusion coincides with a quarterly event known as quadruple witching, when options and futures on indexes and equities expire. Many expect Friday to be one of the busiest trading days of the year.
Leaders on Capitol Hill said they are close to an agreement that would provide $900 billion in additional aid. The talks, which have stretched on for months, are up against the wire, with federal funding lapsing at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Thursday’s 0.93%.
Oil prices improved 46 cents to $48.82 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices backpedaled $2.90 to $1,887.50.
Related Stories
