Markets in Toronto pulled away Friday from where they’d left off Thursday, as health-care and tech stocks left the pack behind.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index reported solid gains on the day, picking up-169.27 points, or 1.2%, to close Friday and the week at 14,420.36, a gain of 60 points, or 0.4%, on the week.
The Canadian dollar scaled back 0.12 cents to 70.95 cents U.S.
Cannabis concerns showed the way, with HEXO vaulting three cents, or 4.6%, to 69 cents, while Canopy Growth took on 91 cents, or 4.4%, to $21.82.
Among information technology plays, Shopify leaped 33 cents, or 3.8%, to $904.32, while Celestica improved 23 cents, or 3.5%, to $6.72.
Consumer discretionary stocks also stood out, with BRP Inc. gained $2.84, or 10%, to $31.25, while Spin Master advanced 81 cents, or 4.3%, to $19.58.
Only energy flaked out close to the final bell, with MEG Energy subsiding 16 cents, or 5.6%, to $2.72, while Fronterra Energy lost 38 cents, or 8.6%, to $4.04.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange powered ahead 6.13 points, or 1.3%, to 462.64, jumping 17.8 points, or nearly 4%, on the week.
All but one of 12 TSX subgroups were positive, with health-care sprinting 2.9%, information technology gaining 2%, and consumer discretionary prospering 1.9%
Energy stocks slid 0.2%, the lone laggard.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Friday as oil prices clawed back even more of their historic losses from earlier in the week while investors weighed the prospects of a potential coronavirus treatment from Gilead Sciences.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 260.01 points, or 1.1% to finish Friday and the week at 23,775.27
The S&P 500 strengthened 38.94 points, or 1.4%, to 2,836.74
The NASDAQ Composite ballooned 139.77 points, or 1.7%, to 8,634.52. Tech was the best-performing sector in the S&P 500, gaining 2.1% as Apple climbed over 2%.
For the week, however, the Dow was down 1.9% while the S&P 500 dropped over 1%. The NASDAQ was down 0.2% week to date. It was Wall Street’s first weekly decline in three.
Stocks were taken for a wild ride on Thursday after The Financial Times reported — citing documents accidentally published by the World Health Organization — that Gilead Sciences’ drug remdesivir did not improve coronavirus patients’ condition. The documents cited by the FT referred to a Chinese clinical trial.
Gilead noted that study was "terminated early due to low enrollment," leaving it "underpowered to enable statistically meaningful conclusions. As such, the study results are inconclusive."
On Friday, Reuters reported that a U.S. government-led trial of remdesivir was running ahead of schedule. The report said those results could be ready by mid-May, with preliminary numbers possibly out earlier. Gilead shares gained more than 2% on the back of the report.
More than 2.6 million cases have been confirmed worldwide, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In the U.S., over 800,000 cases have been confirmed. However, a decline in new daily cases has boosted equities from their lows reached on March 23.
U.S. crude futures were up for a third straight day on Friday, rising 0.8% to $16.64 per barrel. However, West Texas Intermediate was well off its session highs. Earlier in the day, WTI rallied more than 5%. Oil was headed for steep weekly losses as demand concerns weigh on oil’s outlook amid the coronavirus pandemic. WTI futures have lost over 31% for the week.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained a bit of ground, lowering yields to Thursday’s 0.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 61 cents to $17.11 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $3.50 to $1,741.90 U.S. an ounce.
