Canada's main stock index strengthened by the close Friday, despite downbeat industrial data out of China, which provided fresh evidence of the U.S.-China trade war pressuring global growth.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index marched higher 62.65 points to close Friday and the week at 16,301.91
The Canadian dollar doffed 0.47 cents to 74.56 cents U.S.
In industrial stocks, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers soared $1.15, or 2.5%, to $47.86, while Westshore Terminals Investment leaped 62 cents, or 2.9%, to $22.11.
Financials were also strong, what with ECN Capital zooming 16 cents, or 3.7%, to $4.46, while Power Corporation gained 40 cents, or 1.5%, to $27.92
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Norbord, which jumped $2.42, or 8.4%, to $31.16, after BMO upgraded the company's shares to "outperform" from "perform". Elsewhere in the gold sector, Alamos Gold acquired 16 cents, or 2.3%, to $7.27.
Cannabis producers Hexo Corp fell 29 cents, or 3.7%, to $7.52, and Cronos Group dropped $1.14, or 4.2%, to $20.69, pushing the health-care sector down.
In the communications field, Shaw Communications lost 35 cents, or 1.3%, to $26.73, while Cogeco Communications fell 58 cents to $92.53.
In the oil patch, Encana faltered 33 cents, or 5%, to $6.25, while Gran Tierra Energy dipped 10 cents, or 3.9%, to $2.49.
On the economic front, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported national home sales rose 1.9% month-over-month in May, while actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 6.7% year-over-year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange skidded 1.4 points Friday to 587.84
Eight of the 12 Toronto subgroups stayed in the green by the close, as industrials and financials each climbed 0.7%, while gold strengthened 0.6%.
The three laggards were health-care, shedding 1.1%, communications, down 0.8%, and energy, off 0.7%. Real-estate concerns were unchanged by the closing bell.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Friday after a sharp decline in Broadcom shares put other chipmakers and the broader tech sector under pressure.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to within 17.16 points of breakeven to close a dismal day at 26,089.61.
The S&P 500 was down 4.66 points at 2,886.98, as the tech sector dropped 0.8%.
The NASDAQ Composite sank 40.47 points to 7,796.66.
The major U.S. stock indexes posted solid gains in the previous session, adding to this month’s sharp rally. The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ are all up more than 4% for June through Friday’s close. The major indexes also posted back-to-back weekly gains.
Chipmakers fell broadly after weak quarterly results from Broadcom, which ditched 5%. The chipmaker posted weaker-than-expected revenue for the previous quarter and cut its guidance for 2019, citing “broad-based ” demand weakness and the U.S. crackdown on Huawei.
Other semiconductor stocks also fell. Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Technology and Applied Materials all traded down at least 1% lower. Dow member Intel dropped 1.1%.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.5% in May, below the 0.6% gain expected by economists. However, April retail sales were revised higher. May sales were also up 0.5% when excluding auto, gas building materials and food.
Overseas, industrial production in China rose 5% last month on a year-over-year basis, the slowest pace of growth in 17 years.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained a bit, lowering yields to 2.08% from Thursday’s 2.10%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices advanced 25 cents to $52.53 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained a dollar at $1,344.70 U.S. an ounce.
