The S&P/TSX composite index closed the session higher Friday -- up 292.52 points to 9,562.49 -- after starting the day in the red -- as investors looked past a report showing consumer confidence at a 26-year low.
Consumer confidence in Canada fell in October to its lowest level since 1982, when the economy was in recession, according to a survey by the Conference Board of Canada released on Friday. ''The global credit crunch and major stock market declines clearly had an effect on consumer confidence in October,'' said Pedro Antunes, director of forecasts at the Conference Board.
Canada's big financial institutions are lined up to get relief from toxic assets, the National Post newspaper said. Under a ruling expected on Friday, the country's biggest banks and insurers will be able to postpone recording losses on assets that have become hard to sell and hard to value amid the global credit crunch.
In earnings -- Priszm Income Fund, a holding company for Priszm Ltd Partnership that operates quick service restaurants, announced a decline in third quarter net income. Net income for the quarter was $3.517 million or $0.190 per share from $4.630 million or $0.281 million in the previous year. Income from continuing operations was $3.067 million, down from $4.533 million in the prior year.
Allen-Vanguard Corp. shares were up after the maker of high-hazard protective equipment announced a contract to provide specialized training to the U.S. Department of Defence worth as much as $100 million over five years.
Down south -- the Census Bureau reported that September building permits came in at an annualized rate of 786,000, down from 857,000 in August and below analyst estimates. New-home starts were estimated at 817,000, hitting a 17-year low.
Also -- the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, fell to 57.5 in October from 70.3 at the end of October, the biggest month-over-month slide in the history of the report. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would slide to 65.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, was trading down 0.44 cent to 84.27 cents US.
BAYSTREET
Twelve of the TSX sub-groups traded higher today -- energy issues were up 6.91 percent followed by a 6.08 percent gain in utility issues and a 4.92 percent rise in mining stocks.
On the downside -- gold stocks fell 2.61 percent.
COMEX gold for December delivery slumped $16.80 to settle at $787.70 US an ounce.
Meanwhile, the TSX Venture Exchange rose 8.33 points to 946.12 while NASDAQ Canada stocks were off 0.69 points at 571.83.
ON WALLSTREET
A choppy session on Wall Street ended with stocks declining Friday, as ongoing recession fears took center stage while investors brushed off Google's earnings and bullish comments from Warren Buffett.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell late and ended with a loss of 127 points at 8852, while the S&P 500 slipped 6 points to 941. The Nasdaq was off 6 points at 1711.
Berkshire Hathaway head Warren Buffett said in a New York Times commentary that he is moving to stocks from Treasurys in his personal portfolio.
The influential investor said business activity will continue to dwindle as the economy struggles. But the fear surrounding the economic slowdown and the credit crisis has left stocks with attractive valuations.
Investors weighed the latest comments on the financial crisis offered by Bush, who said it would ''take a while'' for the credit crunch to ease. Bush also declared the economy would eventually recover in remarks before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
In earnings news -- Capital One posted a third-quarter profit that missed analysts' expectations.
Earnings from the tech sector also were in the spotlight. IBM said it would meet full-year estimates after reporting increased third-quarter profit on cost reductions and strong international sales.
Google Inc.'s shares rose after the company late Thursday posted 26 percent profit growth for the third quarter, topping analyst estimates after the online-search leader cut expenses.
In other news -- the Wall Street Journal reported that General Motors was ramping up merger discussions with Chrysler.
Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were mixed. The 10-year was up 2/32 to yield 3.95 percent, and the 30-year was shedding 29/32, yielding 4.31 percent. The American dollar was higher vs. the yen, but weakening against the euro and pound.
U.S. light crude oil for November delivery rose $4.45 to $74.30 US a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after ending the previous session at a 13-month low.
Gasoline prices fell another 4.4 cents overnight, to a national average of $3.04 a gallon, according to a survey of credit card activity by motorist group AAA. It was the 30th consecutive day that prices have decreased - in the past month alone, they're down more than 81 cents a gallon.
