Stocks in Canada’s biggest market fluctuated before finishing higher on Friday after a two-day slide, as a slump in energy shares was offset by a rally in miners.
The S&P/TSX composite index regrouped and gained 34.1 points to close the week at 13,358.77
The Canadian dollar stepped back 0.11 cents to 74.77 cents U.S.
Energy companies, accounting for more than 18% of the nation’s benchmark index, have slumped 25% during 2015.
Suncor Energy declined 72 cents, or 2%, to $36.03, and Canadian Natural Resources descended 13 cents, or 0.4%, to $30.70.
Along with energy stocks, industrial concerns also declined Friday, weighed down by railway companies.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. fell $7.65, or 4.1%, to $180.15. Norfolk Southern Corp. rejected Canadian Pacific’s $29-billion takeover, saying that even at a sweetened price, a deal would be unlikely to gain regulatory approval.
Metals prices are recovering after the dollar weakened the most in almost nine months on Thursday. Silver Standard Resources Inc. gained 42 cents, or 5.7%, to $7.81, and Agnico Eagle Mines gained $2.97, or 8.3%, to $38.93.
Gold miners moved higher, with Barrick Gold advancing 72 cents, or 7.1% to $10.81, and Goldcorp up 93 cents, or 5.8%, to $17.03.
Statistics Canada announced that the economy shed 36,000 jobs in November, most of them part-time jobs. The decline follows a similar-sized rise in October. The unemployment rate moved forward 0.1 percentage points to 7.1%.
Still on the economic beat, the agency also reported that Canada's exports decreased 1.8% and imports declined 0.8% in October. That means our merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $2.3 billion in September to $2.8 billion in October.
Finally, Western University in London, Ontario reported that its Ivey Purchasing Managers Index stood at 63.6 in November, compared to 53.1 the month before, and 56.9 in November 2014.
The survey tracks purchasing managers of companies on whether their buys improved, fell back, or stayed static during the month. Any reading over 50 implies expansion.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.42 points to 517.14.
All but three of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher by day’s end, gold soaring 5.7%, materials, up 3%, and information technology, gaining 1.1%.
The three laggards were energy, skidding 2.3%, industrials, down 1.4%, and utilities, off 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks pushed firmly ahead Friday after a strong jobs report supporting a U.S. Federal Reserve hike this month and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi maintaining a dovish stance in a speech.
The Dow Jones industrial average popped 369.96 points, or 2.1%, to close the week at 17,847.63, with Microsoft leading all member stocks higher.
The S&P 500 gained 40.93 points, or 2%, to 2,090.57, back into positive territory for the year after closing lower year-to-date Thursday.
All sectors except energy were up, led by telecommunications and financials.
The NASDAQ index vaulted 104.74 points, or 2.1%, to 5,142.27
The November jobs report beat headline expectations with creation of 211,000 and showed an increase in wages and continued low unemployment, as expected. The number of jobs created in October and September were also revised higher. Experts had called for a rise of around 200,000 jobs last month.
In other economic news, the U.S. trade deficit widened unexpectedly by 3.4% to $43.9 billion U.S. in October as exports fell to a three-year low, suggesting that strong dollar pressure on trade could again weigh on economic growth in the fourth quarter.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 2.28% from Thursday’s 2.32%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell another $1.08 a barrel to $40.00 U.S.
Gold prices leaped $24.56 to $1,086.67 U.S. an ounce.
