Equities in Toronto rose shortly after the open, helped by moderate gains among energy and resource issues as well as financial stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index picked up 71.60 points to begin May at 15,296.14
The Canadian dollar sank 0.68 cents to 82.16 cents U.S.
Metals and mining dominated the scene, with First Quantum Minerals leaping $1.24, or 6.7%, to $19.72.
Health-care issues were also solid as Valeant Pharmaceuticals triumphed $4.90, or 1.9%, to $266.53.
Utilities dragged their feet, however, as Canadian Utilities dumped 63 cents, or 1.6%, to $38.57.
On the economic slate, the RBC manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for April indicated another difficult month for Canadian manufacturing companies, with output, new business and employment levels all decreasing last month.
Adjusted for seasonal influences, the PMI registered 49.0 in April, up only fractionally from 48.9 in March and below the neutral 50.0 value for the third month running.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 0.63 points to 696.63
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were uppers in the first hour, with metals and mining moving 3% higher, global base metals strengthening 2.2%, and health-care stocks 1.6% to the good.
The five laggards were weighed by utilities, down 0.5%, gold, dulling in price 0.4%, and energy, 0.3% less energetic.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Friday, rebounding from Thursday's selloff, as investors kept an eye on higher Treasury yields and economic reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials rebounded 116.84 points to 17,957.36, after a collapse of nearly 200 points Thursday.
The S&P 500 index recovered 11.25 points to 2,096.76,
The NASDAQ repaired 29.04 points to 4,970.46
Auto sales come out throughout the day. General Motors and Ford reported stronger-than-expected U.S. auto sales, with GM sales up nearly 6% and Ford posting a 5.4% gain from the same month last year. Fiat Chrysler and Nissan reported an increase of 5.8% and 5.7%, respectively.
Yum Brands spiked 5% to highs not seen since its spinoff from PepsiCo on news that Dan Loeb's Third Point took a significant stake in the firm. The hedge fund also announced a stake in Devon Energy.
Friday will be a quieter day for earnings with Chevron, Clorox and Public Service before market open.
Oil and natural gas producer Chevron posted a 43% drop in quarterly profit on Friday due to low oil prices. The company reported net income of $2.57 billion U.S, or $1.37 per share, compared to $4.51 billion U.S, or $2.36 per share, in the year-ago period. Production grew 4% to 2.68 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Moody's earned $1.11 U.S. per share for its latest quarter, beating estimates by eight cents, with revenue also well above estimates. Its results were powered by strong increases in both debt rating and analytics revenue.
Expansion in the U.S. manufacturing sector weakened in April as growth in output and new orders fell, according financial data firm Markit. The report said the final U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 54.1 in April from 55.7 in March. The preliminary read was 54.2.
On the back of disappointing first-quarter GDP data, April's manufacturing ISM index missed slightly, coming in at 51.5, unchanged from the previous month. The report was expected to show a modest rise to 52 that would follow five consecutive months of weakening.
Construction spending data for March showed a decline of 0.6%. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey for April showed a final read of 95.9, up from 93.0 in March.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries fell, hiking yields to 2.10% from Thursday’s 2.04%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 72 cents to $58.91 U.S.
Gold prices stumbled $11.00 to $1,171.40 U.S.
