Stocks in Canada’s largest market powered ahead throughout Friday afternoon, after a surprising inflation report aroused new suspicions of a rate hike by the Bank of Canada before too long.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 98.06 points to end the day and the week at 16,323.71
The Canadian dollar forged ahead 0.5 cents to 76.55 cents
Health-care led the charge Friday, with Aurora Cannabis surging 24 cents, or 3.8%, to $6.49, and Canopy Growth, well, growing $3.27, or 8%, to $43.95.
Gold miners proved another top finisher on the index, with Barrick Gold Corp rising 12 cents to $13.11, Wheaton Precious Metals climbed 97 cents, or 4.2%, to $24.19, and Franco-Nevada Corp, surging $2.45, or 2.9%, to $87.49.
In the materials sector, Agnico Eagle Mines leaped $1.06, or 2.3%, to $46.52, while Teck Resources gained 12 cents to $29.63.
The tech sector was red, as BlackBerry cooled 13 cents, or 1%, to $13.13, while Shopify stooped $4.14, or 2.3%, to $179.13.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reports foreign investment in Canadian securities totaled $11.5 billion in June, up from $3.0 billion in May. At the same time, Canadian investment in foreign securities increased to $11.3 billion, the largest investment since January of this year.
In July, the cost of living rose 3.0% on a year-over-year basis in July, following a 2.5% increase in June. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the consumer price index was up 0.5% in July, after increasing 0.2% in June. The rate was forecast unchanged at 2.5% in July.
Chances of a September hike rose to nearly 30% from less than 20% the day earlier, as indicated by the overnight index swaps market.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.84 points to 678.01
All but two of the 12 subgroups finished higher, with health-care ahead 3.3%, gold shinier 2.3%, and materials advancing 1.7%.
The two laggards were information technology, off 0.8%, and consumer discretionary issues, down 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped on Friday after a report said President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping hope to discuss U.S.-China trade in November.
The Dow hurtled skyward 110.59 points to 25,669.32, after The Wall Street Journal said U.S. and Chinese officials are working on a road map for the meeting to take place.
The S&P 500 picked up 9.44 points to 2,850.13
The NASDAQ regained 9.81 points to 7,816.33.
The Dow recorded triple-digit moves every day this week – one way and the other -- but managed to close higher for the week, along with the S&P 500.
U.S. and Chinese officials are scheduled to have "mid-level talks" in Washington next week.
Shares of Applied Materials dropped more than 7.5% after the company issued weaker--than-expected guidance for its fiscal fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Nvidia fell 4.9% after its revenue forecast disappointed investors. These declines brought down the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor exchange-traded fund (SMH) by 0.7%
Investors were also jittery after the Turkish lira resumed its steep decline amid the possibility of more U.S. sanctions. The U.S. warned Turkey it would impose more sanctions on the country if American pastor Andrew Brunson is not released. Brunson has been detained in Turkey since 2016. The threats sent the Turkish lira — which hit a record low against the dollar earlier this week — down by about 4.4%
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury lost ground, raising yields back to Thursday’s 2.87%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 40 cents at $65.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gathered $6.50 to $1,190.50 U.S. an ounce.
