The Toronto Stock Exchange racked up a solid triple-digit gain on Friday to move above the 12,000 level once again.
The S&P/TSX composite index raced ahead 169.84 points, or 1.4%, to finish a short week at 12,081.73, well above the psychologically-important 12,000 mark. The markets across Canada were closed Monday for Thanksgiving Day.
The Canadian dollar moved higher 0.93 cents to 98.91 cents U.S.
The energy and materials sectors led the gains, as Brent crude and U.S. oil futures rose more on optimism that Europe’s leaders would push forward with plans to resolve the region’s financial woes.
Energy companies were among the biggest gainers on the TSX Friday morning with Suncor Energy rising 5.3% to $30.69 and Canadian Natural Resources gaining 3.8% to $32.94.
Cenovus Energy climbed 3.4% to $35.41 and Canadian Oil Sands gained 4.3% to $22.84.
Canadian miners were higher as bullion prices rose and the U.S. dollar fell.
Teck Resources was a strong gainer, rising 3.5% to $36.69, while Barrick Gold gained 1.6% to $48.76.
Financials showed mixed results, with Manulife Financial rising 3.9% to $12.94 and a number of the big six banks tracking lower.
Among financials, Bank of Nova Scotia inched up 0.1% to $52.24. Royal Bank of Canada slid 0.3% to $47.70, while Toronto-Dominion Bank struggled upward 0.4% to $74.94.
Economically speaking, the nation’s number crunchers indicated that manufacturing sales continue to rumble across Canada.
Figures released this morning by Statistics Canada showed that August manufacturing sales rose 1.4% to $47.6 billion, mostly in sales of transportation equipment, food, and petroleum and coal products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange prospered 24.98 points to 1,557.61 while the Nasdaq Canada index climbed 6.08 points to 455.48
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive by the closing bell. Metals and mining stocks built up 3.9%, while energy stocks gushed 3.4% higher, and materials were 1.9% to the good.
The two laggards were weighed by utilities, ailing 0.2%, and consumer staples, listing lower by 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks rallied Friday, as investors welcomed a strong report on consumer spending.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 166.36 points to end the week at 11,644.50
The S&P 500 grew 20.92 points to 1,224.58, while the Nasdaq Composite Index spiked 47.61 points to 2,667.85.
Google was among the biggest gainers early Friday, a day after the search giant issued a stellar earnings report. The buying spilled over to other big tech names, with shares of Dow component Hewlett-Packard moving up.
Expectations of more robust consumer demand caused a run-up in stocks in the oil and industrials sectors. Among the biggest Dow gainers were Chevron, Exxon and General Electric. Oil prices hovered around a recent high of $87 U.S. a barrel.
In Friday morning trading, financial sector stocks hovered around break-even but occasionally moved into positive territory. Shares of JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Credit Suisse, and Bank of America had traded yesterday and in early morning trading after JPMorgan Chase reported a drop in income Thursday morning.
Before the opening bell, Mattel reported strong sales of Barbie dolls, which helped drive its revenue higher than expected in the third quarter.
The U.S. Commerce Department released September retail sales figures before the opening bell that signaled a more positive reading on the buying patterns of the American consumer.
Thousands of consumers lined up outside Apple stores waiting to become among the first iPhone 4s buyers in another sign that spending is picking up.
Still with looming uncertainty over Europe and several large U.S. banks poised to report paltry earnings, some investors and traders questioned whether this week's rally would be sustainable.
But investors are still wrestling with whether European leaders will take the appropriate steps to prevent massive fallout from Europe's debt crisis.
As finance ministers from the Group of 20 economies start a two-day meeting in Paris to discuss Europe's debt crisis, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reiterated the United States' support to help Europe address its sovereign debt crisis.
On the economic front, the U.S. Commerce Department reported retail sales rose 1.1% in September, an improvement after sales rose only 0.3% the month before. The data beat economists' expectations of a 0.6% increase.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported export prices rose 0.4%, and import prices rose 0.3% in September.
Because consumer spending makes up more than two thirds of the U.S. economy, these numbers are closely watched as a gauge of the recovery.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped, pushing the yield up to 2.23% from 2.17% late Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for October delivery muscled $3.02 higher to $87.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery gained $11.30 to $1,680.80 U.S. an ounce.
