Equity markets in Canada’s largest centre opened higher on Friday, supported by energy stocks, offsetting concerns about worse-than-expected domestic jobs data for January.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 54.86 points to open the week’s last session at 18,096.83.
The Canadian dollar restocked 0.21 cents to 78.19 cents U.S.
Evercore ISI raised the price target on Canada Goose Holdings to $60 from $40. Goose shares flew $1.98, or 3.6%, to $56.93.
Scotiabank raised the price target on Lightspeed POS to $76 from $55. Shares in Lightspeed faded $1.57, or 1.7%, to $91.69.
It’s a busy day on the macroeconomic scene, with Statistics Canada informing us the economy lost 213,000 jobs during January, thus boosting the unemployment rate to 9.4%. Losses were entirely in part-time work and were concentrated in the Quebec and Ontario retail trade sectors.
At the same time, the nation’s number crunchers reported Canada's merchandise exports rose 1.5% in December, while imports fell 2.3%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $3.6 billion in November to $1.7 billion in December, the lowest deficit since June 2020.
Western University’s IVEY Business School is out with its Purchasing Managers Index for January. The index gained ground to 48.4 from December's 46.7, but was down from the 57.3 figure in January 2020.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will succeed in inoculating its population despite "momentary disruptions" in the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and is working closely with the new U.S. administration to fight the disease.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange grew 22.93 points, or 2.3%, to 1,021.07.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive in the beginning on Friday, with information technology picking up 1.4%, energy up 0.7%, and materials increasing 0.5%.
The two laggards were health-care, settling 1.7%, and consumer staples off 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Friday, with the major averages trying to finish their best week since November, as investors hoped a disappointing January jobs report would increase the likelihood of further stimulus.
The Dow Jones Industrials improved 40 points, or 1.1%, to kick off the Friday session at 31,095.86.
The S&P 500 eked higher 4.98 points to 3,876.72. The 30-stock Dow and the S&P 500 are on track to post their fifth straight positive day.
The NASDAQ Composite added 2.75 points to 13,777.74.
With a streak of gains this week, the major averages are on pace for their best weekly performance since November. The blue-chip Dow has gained 2%, while the S&P 500 took on 4.6%, and the NASDAQ has 5.6%. The market rebounded from last week’s sharp losses as the speculative trading frenzy dissipated.
Wall Street is in the middle of a solid earnings season. Of the 184 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date, 84.2% topped analyst expectations.
The Labor Department said the U.S. added 49,000 jobs in January, slightly below the 50,000 payrolls expected by economists. The unemployment rate fell to 6.3%, better than projections of 6.7%. December’s numbers were revised much lower, with the month posting a loss of 227,000 from the initial reading of 140,000 jobs lost.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were unchanged, keeping yields at Thursday’s 1.14%.
Oil prices advanced 56 cents to $56.79 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $14.90 to $1,806.10 U.S. an ounce.
