Markets in Canada’s largest centre gained ground in the first hour of trade Friday, led by energy and financials as stronger-than-expected Chinese inflation data supported global equity markets and oil rose.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 78.82 points to begin the final session of a short week at 14,722.53
The Canadian dollar regained 0.25 cents to 76 cents U.S.
Markets in Canada were shut down Monday for Thanksgiving
India's Reliance Communications is selling a 51% stake in its tower assets to Canada's Brookfield Infrastructure Group for 110 billion rupees ($1.65 billion U.S.), in a deal that will help cut the phone carrier's huge debt.
Brookfield shares dipped four cents to $47.32.
Raymond James raised the target price on Advantage Oil & Gas to $12.75 from $11.00. Advantage shares galloped 24 cents, or 2.4%, to $10.07.
Desjardins cut the target price on DragonWave to $3.00. Shares in DragonWave dropped four cents a share, or 1.2%, to $3.28.
TD Securities raised the target price on Premium Brands Holdings to $77.00 from $75.00. Premium shares gained 59 cents to $64.92.
ON BAY STREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 0.32 points to 777.18
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher in the early going, what with information technology, industrials and financials each up 0.7%.
The four laggards were weighed most by gold, down 1%, health-care off 0.2% and materials, sliding 0.1%.
ON WALL STREET
U.S. equities rose on Friday as investors pored over quarterly results from several big banks and economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 149.6 points to 18,248.54, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most to gains.
The S&P 500 recovered 15.37 points to 2,147.92, with financials rising more than 1% to lead all sectors higher.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 42.13 points to 5,255.46
JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all posted better-than-expected quarterly results, beating estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
One expert commented that earnings season has gotten off to a good start. Of the 34 S&P 500 companies that had reported as of Friday morning, 79% had beaten Wall Street estimates for earnings per share.
In economic news, U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% in September, matching expectations. Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand increased 0.3% after being unchanged in August.
Other data released Friday included October consumer sentiment, which came in at 87.9, well below an estimate of 92. Meanwhile, business inventories rose 0.2% in August.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell a bit, upping yields to 1.76% from Thursday’s 1.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were unchanged at $50.44 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices skidded 60 cents to $1,257.00 U.S. an ounce.
