The TSX made steady progress toward the 20,000-point mark, besting Thursday’s all-time high by 95.43 points, to open Friday at 19,869.84.
The Canadian dollar added 0.01 cents to 82.86 cents U.S.
Hexo said it would buy Redecan, Canada's privately owned licensed producer, for $925 million in a cash-and-stock deal.
Hexo shares popped $1.04, or 13.2%, to $8.94.
BMO raises target price on Royal Bank of Canada to $139 from $131. Shares in Canada’s largest bank shed 59 cents to $125.41.
Citigroup cut the price target on Cenovus Energy to $12.00 from $13.00. Cenovus shares inched up four cents to $9.67.
Credit Suisse raised the price target on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to $142.00 from $131.00. CIBC shares retreated 45 cents to $140.63.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 2.4 points to 962.05.
All but two of the 12 subgroups started Friday positive, with health-care burgeoning 3.9%, information technology up 2%, and gold brighter by 0.9%.
Financials faded 0.2%, while consumer discretionary shares were unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks climbed on Friday as major averages headed for a winning week amid growing optimism over the U.S. economic recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 89.21 points at the outset to 34,553.85.
The S&P 500 added 9.84 points to 4,200.88.
The NASDAQ surged 51.95 points to 13,736.28.
The S&P 500 is up more than 1% week to date and sits less than 1% from a record. The blue-chip Dow is also more than 1% higher over the same time period, while the NASDAQ has gained 2.3%.
For the month of May, the S&P 500 is slightly higher, while the Dow is up 2%. The NASDAQ is off by about 1.3%.
Salesforce shares popped nearly 7% after the software company’s first-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations on its top and bottom lines. HP shares dropped 5% despite the company’s better-than-expected second-quarter results.
Ford was higher once again, up 1% Friday. The stock has rallied 12% this week so far after unveiling a new electric vehicle strategy.
Meme stocks fueled by traders in Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum surged again on Friday with AMC shooting up over 30%.
The moves higher this week come as investors monitor the back-and-forth in Washington over a comprehensive infrastructure package that could further boost the economic recovery. Senate Republicans unveiled a $928-billion infrastructure counteroffer to President Joe Biden on Thursday. However, that’s well below Biden’s most recent proposal of $1.7 trillion.
A key inflation indicator — the core personal consumption expenditures index — rose 3.1% in April, faster than expectations of a 2.9% increase but not as hot as many on Wall Street had feared. Meanwhile, the savings rate remained elevated at 14.9% last month, while consumer spending rose 0.5%, in line with estimates.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys gained, lowering yields to 1.59% from Wednesday’s 1.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell two cents to $66.83 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $2.10 to $1,900.60 U.S. an ounce.
