Equities in Canada`s largest market rose on Friday, driven by an expectation of another interest hike by the Bank of Canada to subdue inflation.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index improved 65.97 points to close Friday and the week at 15,470.10
The Canadian dollar scaled back 0.19 cents to 76.27 cents U.S.
The main index was on track to end the week higher after three consecutive weeks of declines.
Consumer staples led the brigade of gaining stocks, as Restaurant Brands International tacked on 70 cents to $75.45, while Saputo Inc. climbed $1.09, or 2.8%, to $39.75.
In real-estate, Colliers International Group added 19 cents to $89.75, and Allied Properties REIT gained 60 cents, or 1.4%, to $42.25.
In utilities, Hydro One nicked up six cents to $19.49.
Health-care took some knocks, though, with Canopy Growth diving $2.64, or 4.1%, to $61.30, while Aurora Cannabis sank 75 cents, or 5.5%, to $13.01.
Tech shares also got bruised, as BlackBerry swooned 36 cents, or 2.9%, to $12.22, while Constellation Software lost $3.73 to $886.24.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.2% year over year in September, following a 2.8% increase in August.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI was down 0.1% in September, after rising 0.1% in August.
Elsewhere, retail sales declined 0.1% to $50.8 billion in August, following a 0.2% increase in July. Sales were down in seven of 11 sub-sectors in August, representing 52% of retail trade.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange let go of 8.3 points to 682.16
All but two of the 12 subgroups were in the green, led by consumer staples, rocking 2%, real-estate, up 1.3%, and utilities, better by 1.1%
The two laggards were health-care, down 3.3%, and information technology, off 1.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Friday on the back of strong earnings from Procter & Gamble as Wall Street tried to regain its footing after a sharp sell-off in the prior session.
The 30-stock index gained 64.89 points to end the week at 25,444.34, led by a 8.8 percent surge in Procter & Gamble shares, their biggest since Oct. 28, 2008. The Dow also posted its first weekly gain in four, climbing 0.4% in that time. Procter surged after reporting better-than-expected earnings. The company said it got a boost from strong beauty-product sales.
The S&P 500 docked one point to 2,767.78, as declines in health care and consumer discretionary offset a 2.3% gain in consumer staples.
The NASDAQ lost 36.11 points to 7,449.03, as Facebook, Amazon and Netflix all pulled back.
Honeywell and Schlumberger also reported better-than-forecast profits. American Express, PayPal and Skechers all posted on Thursday earnings that topped analyst expectations. American Express shares rose 3.8%, while PayPal hiked 9.4% and Skechers 13.8%
The corporate earnings season is off to a strong start. With more than 15% of S&P 500 companies having reported, 83% have topped analyst expectations
Overnight, China said its economy grew by 6.5% in the third quarter, missing expectations. Chinese equities surged, however, as officials took steps to support the market, and that was helping sentiment in the U.S.
Despite Friday's gains, however, stocks remain down sharply for the month. The Dow and S&P 500 have fallen more than 4% each in October, while the NASDAQ is down nearly 7%.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury faded Friday, raising yields to 3.20% from Thursday’s 3.17%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 62 cents at $69.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped 40 cents an ounce to $1,229.70
