The Toronto stock market moved higher by the closing bell Friday, though traders played it cautious while U.S. President Barack Obama and top congressional leaders got together to discuss a resolution to a looming fiscal crisis that has the potential to seriously disrupt the American economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index moved higher by 66.34 points, to end another turbulent week at 11,877.72
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.01 cents to just below parity with its American neighbour at 99.90 cents U.S.
The TSX has tumbled 4.5% since the U.S. elections, as worries about a sudden slowing of economic growth would be bad news for a resource heavy market like Toronto's, since a lessening of demand for oil and metals would put pressure on mining and energy stocks.
Health-care stocks ruled the roost Friday, powered mostly by a 4.5% hike in shares for CML Health-Care, and a 3.1% jump in Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
Information technology stocks were the runner-up in terms of gains, on the strength of Research IN Motion, who kept the momentum going throughout the week, gaining 5.2% on Friday.
December copper fell two cents to $3.44 U.S. a pound. Among base metals stocks, Turquoise Hill Resources dropped five cents to $7.55 while First Quantum Minerals slipped 21 cents to $20.93.
The consumer staples sector declined, as grocer Loblaw Cos. gave back 41 cents to $33.01.
The TSX energy sector regained strength as investors monitored fighting between Israel and militants in Gaza and its potential impact on supplies.
Suncor Energy declined 22 cents to $31.46 and Canadian Natural Resources shed 14 cents to $27.23.
In the gold sector, Goldcorp Inc. was down 23 cents to $39.69 and Iamgold faded six cents to $11.75.
On the corporate front, trading in shares of Astral Media Inc. was halted Friday after a report that BCE Inc. was planning to make a new takeover offer for the broadcasting and advertising company. The stock did commence trading again and closed ahead $2.14, or more than 5%, to $44.40.
The Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommunications Commission killed a $3.4-billion deal last month, saying it wasn’t in the best interests of Canadians. The Globe and Mail said the new deal seeks to overcome regulatory opposition with a plan to auction off a number of Astral’s English broadcast assets. BCE shares were ahead 62 cents at $42.00.
On the economic list, Statistics Canada told us that foreign investment in Canadian securities advanced to $13.9 billion in September, mostly due to buys of government bonds and corporate equities. Canadian investment in foreign securities hit $6 billion, a six-month high, mostly due to the acquisition of U.S. equities.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 12.64 points to 1,235.34
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by the closing bell, led by health-care, up 2.7%, information technology, up 1.4%, and utilities, better by 0.7%.
The two laggards were consumer staples, up 0.2%, and global base metals, off 0.04%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks trimmed their gains Friday afternoon, as investors welcomed positive vibes from Washington lawmakers on the fiscal cliff negotiations but remained cautious ahead of an actual deal.
The Dow Jones Industrials finished the day up 45.93 points to close the week at 12,588.30
The S&P 500 grew 7.44 points to 1,360.77, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 16.19 points to 2,853.13
The indexes started the day in the red, but were pulled into positive territory after top congressional leaders seemed optimistic following their meeting with President Obama about the fiscal cliff, the automatic onset of tax increases and spending cuts starting in January.
House Speaker John Boehner called the meeting "very constructive," noting that he outlined a framework that includes revenue and is "consistent with the president's fair and balanced approach."
And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that he felt "very good" about the talks and believes that they now have "the cornerstones of being able to work something out."
Dell shares tumbled nearly 7% after the company announced disappointing third quarter results late Thursday, falling short of forecasts on both revenue and earnings. Income fell 47% over the same period last year, on weak PC sales. Rival Hewlett-Packard, also fell, making it the biggest laggard on the Dow. HP is set to report its latest earnings next Tuesday.
Gap shares rose after the retailer reported strong third quarter earnings late Thursday.
Sears Holdings led by hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, posted a quarterly loss Thursday of $498 million U.S., much worse than analysts were expecting and wider than its year-earlier loss. Sales slid about 6% during the quarter. Shares of Sears sank 20%, making it the worst performer on the S&P 500.
Economically speaking, a Federal Reserve report showed U.S. industrial production fell 0.4% in October. While the data fell short of economists' forecasts, it was likely impacted by Superstorm Sandy.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained some ground, lowering yields to 1.57% from Thursday’s 1.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices jumped $1.17 to $86.49 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted $1.50 an ounce to $1,712.40 U.S.
