STocks moved up and down on the day, but finished Friday with healthy gains, but not enough to rescue them from weekly losses.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the day up 129.24 points to close the week at 14,638.90. However, the index was down 327.66 points, or 2.2%, on the last five sessions.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.26 cents to 70.92 cents U.S.
Markets in Canada will be closed Monday for Victoria Day
Health-care stocks ruled the roost, primarily Aurora Cannabis Inc, which jumped $6.52, or 70.9%, to $15.73, after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly revenue. Hexo Corp. also screamed higher, 13 cents, or 2.1%, to 75 cents.
Material stocks were next, with First Majestic Silver flying higher $1.28, or 11.5%, to $12.38, while Pan American Silver leaped $3.62, or 11.8%, to $34.43.
Gold also shone, primarily Alacer Gold, ahead $1.20, or 14.2%, to 9.68, while Centerra Gold popped 73 cents, or 5.7%, to $13.61.
Utilities did not fare so well, however, with Transalta Renewables down 28 cents, or 3.6%, to $7.47, while Emera lopped off $1.35, or 2.5%, to $52.10.
Financials also pointed downward, anchored by Genworth MIC, off $1.53, or 5.2%, to $27.73, while Alaris Royalty dipped 30 cents, or 3.2%, to $9.21.
Consumer staples also got bruised, as Saputo lost 37 cents, or 1.1%, to $34.00, while Jamieson Wellness faltered 39 cents, or 1.2%., to $33.11.
In the economic docket, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported home sales recorded over Canadian MLS Systems dropped by a record 56.8% in April, compared to an already weakened March, with a majority of sellers and buyers having seemingly moved off to the sidelines during the COVID-19 lockdown.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 10.75 points, or 2%, to 509.01, gaining 16.92 points, or 3.44% on the week.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided on the day, with health-care sprinting 10.6%, materials better by 3.7%, and gold up 3.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by utilities, down 1.4%, financials, down 0.7%, and consumer staples, sagging 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks finished Friday with modest gains but capped the week with declines between a slew of gloomy economic reports and increasing tensions between China and the U.S.
The Dow Jones Industrials also finished a roller-coaster ride of a Friday session up 60.08 points to 23,685.42, but ended the week lower by about 2.6%
The S&P 500 regrouped 11.2 points to 2,863.70.
The NASDAQ jumped 70.84 points to 9,014.56.
For the week, however, the S&P 500 was down at least 2.4% while the NASDAQ fell 1.7%. It would be the biggest one-week decline for the Dow and S&P 500 since late March.
The major averages clawed back their losses as retail stocks turned around. Stitch Fix shares rallied more than 13%. Best Buy, Kohl’s and Nordstrom also rose. Walmart traded 0.8% higher while Home Depot advanced 3%.
Shares of semiconductor makers AMD, Applied Materials and Skyworks Solutions all fell more than 1.1%. Apple shares slid 0.9% while Qualcomm fell 4.7%.
U.S. monthly retail sales fell by 16.4% in April, a record. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a decline of 12.3%. So-called core retail sales —which exclude auto, gas, food and building materials sales — dropped 15.3%.
Friday’s readings followed better-than-expected data on U.S. consumer sentiment. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index unexpectedly rose in early May.
The Trump administration has moved to block semiconductor shipments to Chinese company Huawei. The Commerce Department said it would "strategically target Huawei’s acquisition of semiconductors that are the direct product of certain U.S. software and technology."
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury dipped, raising yields to 0.64% from Thursday’s 0.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices increased $2.02 to $29.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices improved $12.00 to $1,752.90 U.S. an ounce.
