Equities in Canada’s biggest centre were little changed on Friday as the energy sector rebounded alongside oil prices and as investors scooped up shares of companies that have taken a beating recently.
The S&P/TSX composite index dipped 0.36 points, after opening positive, to greet noon at 13,009.57
The Canadian dollar acquired 0.43 cents of strength to 72.17 cents U.S.
BlackBerry jumped after the smartphone company reported its first quarter-to-quarter revenue gain in more than two years, suggesting turnaround efforts may be succeeding. BlackBerry rose 10.1% to $11.99
Bombardier also got a boost after it received certification for its CSeries 110-seater plane. Its shares rose 12.8% to $1.32.
Separately, a source told the media that Pierre Beaudoin is expected to step down as executive chairman of the company in early 2016.
Canadian Natural Resources was the biggest lift on the index, rising 2.6% to $28.96.
Gold companies were boosted by a rebound in the precious metal, with Goldcorp rising 3.9% to $15.85, and Barrick Gold up 3.5% at $10.03.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada was to report the consumer price index rose 1.4% in the 12 months to November, after increasing 1.0% in October. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, inflation moved up 0.2% in November, matching the increase in October.
Also, the agency reported that wholesale sales declined 0.6% to $54.7 billion in October, a fourth consecutive decrease.
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ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 2.22 points to 499.17
Eight of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher, with metals and mining galloping 7.9%, gold up 3.3%, and materials ahead 2.9%.
The five laggards were weighed by financials, down 0.9%, real-estate, off 0.6%, and industrials, sliding 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks hurtled earthward Friday, amid options expiration, as investors viewed oil and economic data in the aftermath of the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike Wednesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 220.1 points, or 1.3%, to 17,275.74, with Boeing and Goldman Sachs losing the most. Disney turned lower more than 2.5% in midday trade, after BTIG downgraded the stock to "sell" from "neutral."
The S&P 500 dropped 21.01 points, or 1%, to 2,020.88. The S&P 500 fell 1%, with financials and utilities leading nearly all sectors lower.
The NASDAQ index erased 35.28 points to 4,967.28. Apple fell more than 1.5%.
The third Friday of every March, June, September, and December features quadruple "witching," the expiration of three related classes of options and futures contracts, along with individual stock futures options.
In economic news, the flash Markit U.S. Services Purchasing Managers Index for December came in at 53.7, down from the final November read of 56.1 and the lowest print in 12 months.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 2.19% from Thursday’s 2.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices improved 57 cents a barrel to $35.52 U.S.
Gold prices gained $15.86 to $1,066.96 U.S. an ounce.
