Equities in Canada’s largest centre opened higher on Friday with energy and mining stocks leading gains as crude prices rose, while copper prices gained on hopes of more stimulus from China.
The TSX shot up 124.52 points Friday at 20,037.69.
The Canadian dollar nosed up 0.05 cents to 75.51 cents U.S.
A media report stated that activist hedge fund Starboard Value has gained a more than 5% stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities, whose stock began Friday ahead eight cents to $11.10.
Statistics Canada reports April GDP was essentially unchanged as goods-producing industries edged up 0.1%, while services-producing industries stayed put.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gathered 2.22 points to 615.24.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were headed upward, with health-care hiking 1.4%, real-estate ahead 1.1%, and utilities, improving 0.8%.
The lone laggard proved to be energy, sagging 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Friday as Wall Street looked to cap off a banner start to 2023 and the latest inflation data showed continued easing.
The Dow Jones Industrials shot higher 272.91 points to open the quarter’s last session at 34,395.33.
The S&P 500 gained 48.6 points, or 1.1%, to 4,445.73.
The NASDAQ index popped 197.34 points, or 1.4%, to 13,786.67.
Friday is a pivotal day for investors, marking not just the end of the June, but also the conclusion of the second quarter and the first half. Here is where the indexes stand as of Thursday’s close:
For June, the S&P 500 has gained 5.2% and is on pace for its best monthly performance since January. The NASDAQ has advanced 5.1%, and both it and the broad-market index are heading for a fourth consecutive positive month. The Dow has climbed 3.7%, and it’s on track for its best month since November.
For the second quarter, S&P 500 has risen 7% and is tracking for a third straight quarter of gains. The NASDAQ touts a gain of 11.2% for back-to-back positive quarters. The Dow has jumped 2.6%, but it’s also on pace for a third winning quarter.
For year-to-date and the first half, the S&P 500 has popped 14.5%, and it’s heading for its best first half since 2018. The NASDAQ has surged nearly 30%, tracking for its best first half since 1983. The 30-stock Dow has a more modest gain of 2.94%.
The three major averages are also on pace for winning weeks, with the S&P 500 and Dow up more than 1% each, and the NASDAQ tracking for a 0.7% increase.
Apple shares rose more than 1% to trade above a $3-trillion market cap. Elsewhere, Nike shares fell about 2% after the apparel giant reported a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit.
Wall Street got another hint of encouraging inflation news. The May core personal consumption expenditures price index, a closely watched gauge by the Federal Reserve, rose less than expected in May. Core PCE increased 4.6% from a year ago, below the 4.7% expected by economists.
When including the volatile food and energy components, inflation was considerably softer — up just 0.1% on the month and 3.8% from a year ago. Those were down respectively from the 0.4% and 4.3% increases reported for April.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury stayed put, keeping yields at Thursday’s 3.84%.
Oil prices gushed 61 cents to $70.47 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $3.90 to $1,921.80 U.S. an ounce.
