Canada's main index opened higher on Friday, with consumer discretionary stocks leading gains, as weak jobs data readings both in Canada and the Unites States raised hopes that interest rates were near their peak.
The TSX rose 121.01 points, to begin the week’s last session at 20,241.75.
The Canadian dollar edged up 0.02 cents to 74.92 cents U.S.
Canadian markets will be closed Monday for Civic Holiday.
Enbridge reported a rise in second-quarter profit. Its stock began Friday up 16 cents to $48.23.
Auto parts maker Magna International raised its full-year profit and sales outlook after its second-quarter results beat estimates. Magna capsized in price $2.81, or 3.3%, to $81.50.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reports the economy lost 6,000 jobs in July, boosting the unemployment rate 0.1 percentage points to 5.5%.
The IVEY PMI for July measured 48.6 in July, compared to 50.2 in June and 57 in July 2022. will be released.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange tacked on 2.05 points to 613.69.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green in the first hour, with utilities ahead 2%, materials surging 1.3%, and gold, brighter 1.2%.
The four laggards were weighed by health-care, sinking 1.1%, consumer discretionary stocks, down 0.5%, and consumer staples, sliding 0.1%.
Real-estate issues were unchanged at Friday’s opening bell.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Friday as Wall Street parsed the earnings from big-name technology companies and a cooler-than-expected July jobs report. Yields also pulled back from recent highs.
The Dow Jones Industrials hiked 124.13 points to start Friday at 35,340.02.
The S&P 500 index took on 5.55 points to 4,507.44.
The NASDAQ index nosed up 3.35 points to 13,963.06.
All the major indexes are on pace to end the week lower. The NASDAQ is down about 1.6%, and S&P 500 is reeling 1.2%. The Dow has slid 0.2% on a week-to-date basis.
Wall Street assessed a deluge of earnings reports, including results from Amazon. The e-commerce stock jumped 9% — on track for its best day since November — after trouncing expectations on profit and offering positive guidance. Apple lost 3% after reporting lower revenue than the year-ago quarter.
Beyond mega-cap tech, DraftKings popped 10% on the back of a report that exceeded analyst expectations, while Booking Holdings gained 6.5% on stronger-than-expected results. Amgen gained 4% on strong earnings, boosting the Dow.
So far this season about 84% of S&P 500 companies have given results, with about 80% surpassing Wall Street expectations, according to FactSet.
Investors also got another hint into the state of the labor market, with Friday’s payrolls report. The data showed 187,000 jobs added in July, less than the 200,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate also ticked lower to 3.5% from 3.6%.
Despite the cooler headline numbers, average hourly wages pointed toward more inflation and came in ahead of expectations, rising 0.4% for the month, and 4.4% on an annualized basis. That came in slightly ahead of the 0.3% and 4.2% expected, respectively.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 4.11% from Thursday’s 4.18%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 35 cents to $81.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $11.00 to $1,979.30 U.S. an ounce.
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