Stocks in Canada's largest market took good vibes from several factors and built them into a triple-digit surge Friday.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered 122.42 points to open the week’s final session at 13,388.86
The Canadian dollar regained 0.71 cents to 76.77 cents U.S.
TransCanada Corp said on Thursday about 400 barrels could have spilled in South Dakota from its 590,000-barrel-per-day Keystone crude oil pipeline.
TransCanada shares gained 54 cents, or 1.1%, to $49.88
Fairfax India Holdings Corp, part of Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa's Fairfax Holdings, said it would invest $300 million in privately held Indian petrochemical company Sanmar Chemicals Group through a combination of equity and fixed-income securities.
Fairfax India shares climbed 16 cents, or 1.5%, to $10.88.
Barclays raised the target price on Great-West Lifeco to $36.00 from $35.00
Great-West acquired 27 cents to $35.06.
Barclays raised the target price on Cenovus Energy to $18.00 from $17.00
Cenovus shares boosted 62 cents, or 3.8%, to $17.03.
Barclays raised the target price on Husky Energy to $21.00 from $17.00
Husky shares gained 47 cents, or 3%, to $16.02.
Barclays cut the target price on Manulife Financial to $21.00 from $22.00
Manulife shares took on 38 cents, or 2.2%, to $17.47.
Barclays raised the target price on Sun Life Financial to $45.00 from $44.00
Sun Life shares added 67 cents, or 1.6%, to $41.51
Barclays raised the target price on Suncor Energy to $43.00 from $40.00
Suncor shares hiked 37 cents, or 1.1%, to $35.76.
NBF cut the target price on First Quantum Minerals to $9.50 from $11.00
First Quantum shares spiked 42 cents, or 7.6%, to $5.96.
Barclays raised the target price on Imperial Oil to $45.00 from $43.00
Imperial shares ballooned 95 cents, or 2.3%, to $41.58.
National Bank Financial cut the target price on Lundin Mining to $4.75 from $5.25.
Lundin shares gained 21 cents, or 5.6%, to $3.94.
Nomura raised the target price on Teck Resources to $8.50 from $6.00
Teck shares popped 60 cents, or 6.6%, to $9.68.
CIBC cut the target price on Air Canada to $12.00 from $15.00
The Maple Leaf airline saw its shares soar 16 cents, or 2%, to $8.29.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported the economy created 41,000 jobs during March, bringing the unemployment rate up
0.2 percentage points to 7.1%. This follows three months of stagnant numbers.
With the gains in March, the agency adds, employment grew by 33,000, or 0.2% in the first quarter, the fourth-consecutive quarter with 0.2% employment growth.
Elsewhere, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that housing starts fell in March to 204,251 units, from an upwardly revised 219,077 units in February. Forecasters had expected 190,000 starts.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange took on 2.17 points to 597.43
All but one of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher in the first hour, as metals and mining triumphed 3.2%, energy climbed 2.4%, and financials gained 1.1%.
Only health-care missed gains, losing 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher Friday, with an assist by soaring oil prices and comments from key Federal Reserve policymakers that reassured investors of a gradual pace of tightening against an optimistic outlook on the domestic economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 145.19 points to 17,687.15, with Boeing, Chevron and Goldman Sachs the top contributors to gains.
The S&P 500 added 16.29 points to 2,058.20, with energy leading nine sectors higher and consumer discretionary stocks providing the only decliner.
The NASDAQ index spiked 43.95 points to 4,892.31
On things economic, wholesale inventories in the states showed a 0.5% decline in February, the sharpest decline since May 2013
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dropped, lifting yields to 1.73% from Thursday’s 1.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices leaped $1.96 a barrel to $39.22 U.S.
Gold prices hesitated $1.90 to $1,238.55 U.S. an ounce.
