What an incredible end to a week of recovery on stock markets throughout North America, as indexes reached for the stars, on optimism the economies of both Canada and the U.S. were poised to pull out of the pandemic-induced economic gulch.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index screamed higher 326.20 points, or 2.1%, to close on Friday at 15,854.07. On the week, the TSX added 661 points, or 4.35%.
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.29 cents at 74.40 cents U.S.
Energy issues ate their Wheaties Friday, particularly Shawcor, which jumped $1.37, or 65.6%, to $3.46, and Baytex Energy, popping 18 cents, or 26.9%, to 85 cents.
Real-estate concerns triumphed, with H&R REIT up 99 cents, or 9.6%, to $11.27, while Cominar REIT, ahead 79 cents, or 9.6%, to $8.99.
Financials also ballooned, with Alaris Royalty leaping $1.03, or 9.1%, to $12.37, while ONEX Corp. flew $3.95, or 6.2%, to $67.72.
Gold and materials subsided, some in a big way, for example, Alamos Gold docked 47 cents, or 4.5%, to $9.97, while Torex Gold backed off $1.39, or 7.7%, to $16.61.
Pan American Silver descended $1.41, or 3.8%, to $35.77, while Wheaton Precious Metals demurred $2.12, or 4%, to $50.56.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported, employment rose by 290,000 (or 1.8%) in May, while the number of people who worked less than half their usual hours dropped by 292,000 (8.6%).
The unemployment rate was 13.7% in May, the highest rate recorded since comparable data became available in 1976.
Elsewhere, the IVEY Purchasing Managers Index for May sprang back up again in May to 39.1 from April's 22.8, but still considerably below the 55.9 reading in May 2019.
Moreover, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said on Thursday it would tighten rules for offering mortgage insurance from July 1, after forecasting declines of between 9% and 18% in home prices over the next 12 months.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange came off its lows of the day, and climbed to within 5.5 points of breakeven to 556.91. The exchange eked out a gain of 2.35 points, or 4.2%, on the week.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups retained their gains by the closing bell , with energy roaring 7.6%, real-estate growing 3.4%, and financials, up 2.8%.
The two laggards were gold, down 2.7%, and materials, off 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rallied on Friday after an unexpected surge in U.S. jobs raised hope that the economy is starting to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 777.98 points, or 3%, to conclude Friday and the week at 27,059.80. The gain on the week was an astonishing 1,676 points, or 6.61%. The Dow is recovering from a drop of as much as 34.6% in 2020.
The S&P 500 hiked 81.58 points, or 2.6%, to 3,193.93. Over the last five sessions, the hike was nearly 150 points, or 4.9%. Friday’s rally put the S&P 500 down just 1.1% for 2020. At one point this year, the broader market index was down 30.3%.
The NASDAQ became the first of the three major averages to climb back to an all-time high, amassing 198.27 points, or 2.1%, to 9,814.08, an improvement of 324 points, or 3.4%. After tumbling as much as 25% earlier this year, the tech-heavy index is now 9.3% higher for 2020.
Friday’s rally put the S&P 500 down just 0.7% for 2020. At one point this year, the broader market index was down 30.3%. The Dow was only down 4.3% year to date after being down as much as 34.6% in 2020. The NASDAQ is now up more than 9% this year.
Shares of airlines jumped, adding to their big gains this week, as the industry added more summer flights. American Airlines jumped 11.1% Friday, while United Airlines shares gained 8.5%. Cruise-line operators such as Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival both advanced more than 14% while Royal Caribbean gained 20.3%.
Mall operator Simon Property gained 15.4%. Kohl’s added 11% and Nordstrom advanced 6%.
Bank stocks, which have been decimated during the pandemic as lending activity and margins dried up, soared as the jobs report suggested a quick bounce back for the economy. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America all rose at least 4%
The U.S. Labor Department said employers added a shocking 2.5 million jobs last month — the largest gain on record — while the unemployment rate slid to 13.3%.
Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a drop of more than eight million jobs and the unemployment rate to nearly reach 20%, which would have been the highest since the 1930s.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury staggered, raising yields to 0.88% from Thursday’s 0.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices leaped $1.74 to $39.15 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dulled $40.70 to $1,686.70 U.S. an ounce.
