Canada's main stock index opened higher on Friday, as gains in healthcare and technology shares countered commodity-linked weakness, but the index is likely to snap its five-week winning streak.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index regained 104.75 points to commence Friday at 21,994.91.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.04 cents to 80.03 cents U.S.
BlackBerry reported fourth-quarter revenue on Thursday that missed analysts' estimates as growth at its cybersecurity business, its biggest, was flat due to increased competition.
The company once known as Research in Motion plummeted 76 cents, or 8.2%, to $8.51
Agnico Eagle is bullish on the prospects for its Fosterville mine and growth in Australia, its chief executive said on Friday after his first visit there since merging with Kirkland Lake Gold.
Agnico Eagle shares docked 13 cents to $76.37.
National Bank of Canada raised the price target on Aya Gold & Silver to $11.50 from $11.25. Aya shares lost 13 cents, or 1.5%, to $8.79.
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on Boat Rocker Media to $11.00 from $13.00. Boat Rocker shares tallied 15 cents, or 3.4%, to $4.60.
TD Securities cut the target price on Richelieu Hardware to $52.00 from $55.00. Richelieu shares lost 16 cents to $45.38.
On the economic slate, Markit Canada reported its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index
registered at 58.9 in March, up solidly from 56.6 in February, to become the highest reading in the survey's eleven-and-a-half-year history.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.38 points to 894.81.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive in the first hour, health-care surging 1.4%, information technology better by 0.8%, and materials up 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Friday as investors assessed a new quarter of trading and a troublesome bond market recession indicator
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 111.63 points at the outset to 34,789.98
The S&P 500 regained 13.21 points to 4,543.62.
The NASDAQ Composite picked up 46.21 points to 14,269.29.
Wall Street is fresh off its first negative quarter in two years, but there were positive signs for investors on Friday. Beaten-down tech stocks were pushing higher in early trading, with chipmaker AMD and streaming company Roku each rising more than 1%. Shares of Twitter rose more than 2%.
Investors were also digesting the official jobs report for March, which showed the U.S. economy adding 431,000 jobs. The result was below the composite estimate of 490,000 but above some of the lower end estimates.
U.S.-listed Chinese stocks jumped on Friday after a report that China was considering sharing company audits with foreign regulators. The so-called meme stocks also advanced, with Gamestop jumping 9% after announcing a plan to split its stock.
Other key economic indicators to watch out for include the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index and the construction spending report, both of which will be released at 10 a.m. ET on Friday.
Treasury prices flopped Friday, with yields leaping to 2.45%, from Thursday’s 2.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.29 to $98.99 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices removed $23.60 to $1,930.40 U.S. an ounce.
