Canadian shares hit its highest point in nearly two weeks in thin and choppy trading on Friday, rallying for a sixth straight session on cautious optimism that Greece's lenders were nearing an agreement that will release aid and on earnings expectations for financial stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 40.30 points to close the week at 12,213.24
The Canadian dollar surged 0.49 cents to 100.78 cents U.S.
Financial shares also advanced for a sixth day ahead of the quarterly reporting season for Canadian banks.
Bank results will be released over the next two weeks, with Royal Bank of Canada the first to report, on November 29. Analysts expect a steady year-over-year profit gain for the group, driven by stronger capital markets-related results.
Among the top advancers, Bank of Montreal gained 0.7% to $58.95, Toronto-Dominion Bank rose 0.5% to $81.40, and Royal Bank added 0.2% to $57.95
On the downside, Research In Motion was among the biggest drags after a stunning gain the previous session. After surging 17% on Thursday on the back of optimism about the prospects for the company's soon-to-be-launched BlackBerry 10 smartphones, RIM shares were down 3.3% at $11.61.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that inflation was in the news Friday morning. Consumer prices rose 1.2% in the 12 months to October, matching the increases in August and September.
The nation’s number crunchers also told us that energy prices rose at a slower year-over-year rate in October compared with September, while air transportation, food purchased from stores and property taxes posted larger price gains.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 10.61 points to 1,254.49
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups remained positive on the day. Health-care stocks moved 1.2% higher, gold 1.1% higher, while global base metals improved 1%.
Information technology stocks proved the lone laggard, off 1.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks wrapped up Black Friday more than 1%, inking the fifth straight day of gains.
The Dow Jones Industrials grew 172.79 points, or 1.4%, to finish a short week at 13,009.68
The S&P 500 moved 18.12 points higher to 1,409.15, and the Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 40.30 points to 2,966.85.
All three indexes ended the week up more than 3%, racking up five straight days of gains. The Dow closed above 13,000 for the first time since Election Day.
Investors were cheered by the sight of busy shopping malls on the kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Leading retailers Wal-Mart and Target opened at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, and large crowds were reported at those stores and others.
Shares of Macy's Inc, Wal-Mart and Target were higher Friday, as were the stocks of other prominent retailers such Sears and Best Buy
Shares of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion moved up nearly 15% following a report by Canadian brokerage firm National Bank Financial that anticipates sales of the BlackBerry 10 smartphone, due to roll out early next year, will be better than expected.
Treasury prices dropped a bit, raising yields to 1.69% from Wednesday’s 1.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 88 cents to $88.26 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $23.20 an ounce to $1,751.40 U.S.
