Equities in Toronto rose on Friday as commodity prices pushed higher and global worries about Britain voting to leave the European Union next week abated.
The S&P/TSX Composite held onto gains of 34.77 points to greet noon at 13,917.18
The Canadian dollar repaired 0.6 cents to 77.7 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index included oil producers Canadian Natural Resources, which gained 2.2% to $38, and Suncor Energy, up 0.8% to $34.30.
Suncor has reportedly launched an auction of its Petro-Canada lubricants division
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added strength.
Saskatchewan is considering whether to end a review of its potash royalty system, the provincial economy minister said, as producers of the crop nutrient struggle with low prices.
Potash Corp of Saskatchewan rose 1.5% to $21.77.
Meanwhile, Canada's energy regulator on Thursday officially launched its 21-month review of TransCanada Corp's Energy East pipeline, which would carry crude from Alberta's oil sands to refineries and export terminals in Eastern Canada.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that inflation increased 1.5% on a year-over-year basis in May, after increasing 1.7% in April. The agency adds that, on a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index increased 0.2% in May, matching the gain in April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 1.22 points to 710.63
Eight of the 13 TSX subgroups were lower, as gold sank 1.7%, materials were off 0.9%, and information technology was off 0.5%.
Energy led the five gainers, up 2.1%, metals and mining, gaining 1.4%, and real-estate, up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower Friday, with health care and tech stocks lagging, amid continued uncertainty ahead of next week's scheduled Brexit vote.
The Dow Jones Industrials faded 64.55 points to greet noon at 17,668.55, with Apple and United Health contributing the most to declines.
The S&P 500 dropped 8.05 points at 2,069.79, with consumer discretionary leading eight sectors lower and energy and materials the only advancers.
The NASDAQ slid 40.08 points to 4,804.83
As of mid-morning trade Friday, the major averages were on pace for a weekly decline of more than 1%, with NASDAQ underperforming.
Apple traded about 2% lower. Intellectual property regulators in Beijing barred the tech company from selling models of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the city, citing strong similarity to an existing Chinese phone. Apple told the media it is appealing the ruling and that the phones are available for sale today in China.
Housing starts declined 0.3% in May, while building permits rose 0.7%
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell, raising yields to 1.62% from Thursday’s 1.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $1.37 a barrel to $47.58 U.S.
Gold prices moved lower $7.00 to $1,291.40 U.S. an ounce.
