Equities in Toronto were little changed on Friday as losses in oil and gas and gold-mining shares were offset by modest gains in other sectors.
The S&P/TSX composite index remained ahead 18.43 points to greet noon at 15,410.78
The Canadian dollar faded 0.15 cents to 82.18 cents U.S.
The most influential decliners on the index included miner Goldcorp, which fell 1.4% to $23.39, and oil company Canadian Natural Resources, which declined 0.8% to $40.54.
A 4.8% climb by diversified miner Teck Resources to $17.19, helped offset some of the losses by gold miners.
West Fraser Timber was among the most influential gainers on the index, jumping 8.5% to $65.70 as analysts cheered first quarter results that beat expectations.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 0.95 points to 698.53
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, with metals and mining charging ahead 3.4%, global base metals better by 2.3%, and utilities moving up 0.5%.
The three laggards were gold, sliding 0.8%, information technology, demurring 0.6%, and energy, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mostly higher on Friday on continued momentum from Thursday's high levels as investors cheered major earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 17.49 points to 18,076.10, with Microsoft surging nearly 9% to lead gains and Intel and Goldman Sachs the greatest laggards.
The S&P 500 index moved higher 4.98 points to 2,117.91, with consumer discretionary leading five sectors higher and energy the greatest decliner.
The NASDAQ index gained 39.19 to 5,095.25, continuing its momentum after eclipsing the index’s all-time record yesterday.
Amazon.com spiked 15.5% to a new intraday high despite reporting a decline in earnings as expected and light guidance. Revenue did beat expectations with a boost from the e-commerce firm's primary market, North America.
McDonald's surged 3% on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to a May presentation of a turnaround plan, despite the firm posting earnings that missed on both the top and bottom lines.
With no other economic data expected, major stocks to watch include Microsoft, Google, Amazon.com, and Starbucks, which reported earnings after the bell on Thursday.
Starbucks briefly surged more than 4% to hit an all-time high on Friday. The coffee retailer topped expectations for global same-store sales and beat on both the top and bottom lines.
The Apple Watch becomes available on Friday, ahead of Apple's earnings report after the close on Monday.
Biogen's stock was under pressure ahead of the bell after the company's first-quarter sales of Tecfidera, an oral multiple sclerosis drug, came in at $824.9 million U.S., below consensus estimates, according to Reuters.
Xerox shares fell more than 3% after the company posted quarterly earnings and revenue that missed analysts' expectations. The company also cut its full-year forecast amid a strong U.S. dollar.
Futures briefly pared gains following durable goods that beat on the headline figure but showed a disappointing decline in the core figure.
Durable goods, ex-transportation, fell 0.2%, below expectations for a slight gain but less than February's 1.3% decline.
Including transportation, which tends to be volatile, the report posted an increase of 4% for March, surpassing expectations for a moderate bounce back, after February's disappointing 1.4% month-on-month drop.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries inched forward, lowering yields to 1.92% from Thursday’s 1.94%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hesitated 85 cents to $56.89 U.S.
Gold prices slouched $16.90 to $1,177.40 U.S.
