Canada's main stock index opened higher on Friday, helped by gains in shares of consumer discretionary and consumer staples companies.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index leaped 114.01 points to open Friday at 16,113.10
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.29 cents at 75.67 cents U.S.
Auto parts supplier Martinrea International reported record fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday that were in line with analyst expectations and announced "significant" new contracts dominated by demand for lightweight structures.
Martinrea shares climbed $1.45, or 11.8%, to $13.72.
RBC raised the target price on Air Canada to $43.00 from $36.00. Shares in the Maple Leaf Airline took flight 63 cents, or 1.9%, to $33.74.
National Bank of Canada cut the rating on Cardinal Energy to sector perform from outperform. Cardinal shares acquired one cent to $2.40.
Desjardins raised the target price on TFI International to $55.00 from $53.00. TFI shares grew $1.25, or 3.1%, to $41.80.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product figures slowed to 0.1% in the fourth quarter, the slowest pace since the second quarter of 2016.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.11 points to 625.65
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher in the first hour of trading, as health-care vaulted 1.5%, consumer discretionary climbed 1.4%, and energy gushed 1.2%.
The two laggards were communications and gold, each down 0.6^.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose sharply on Friday, the first day of March, as Wall Street built on its best start to a year in nearly three decades.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered 171.31 points to 25,916, as shares of Nike and Boeing outperformed.
The S&P 500 recouped 18.33 points to 2,802.82, led by gains in the consumer discretionary and tech sectors.
The NASDAQ Composite heightened 41.63 points to 7,532.53.
Friday's moves come a day after the major indexes posted solid monthly gains in February, pushing the S&P 500 to its best start to a year since 1991. The S&P 500 is up more than 11% for the year, along with the Dow. The NASDAQ Composite, meanwhile, is up 13.5%.
Bloomberg News reported Thursday that U.S. officials are getting a final trade deal ready for President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to sign around mid-March.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped, raising yields to 2.74% from Thursday’s 2.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up 29 cents to $57.51 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices scaled back $3.10 to $1,313.00 U.S. an ounce.
