Stocks Flat at Friday Opening
Apple, Microsoft in Focus
Shares in the TSX were little changed first thing Friday, even as energy stocks fell, tracking declining crude prices, while gains in mining shares kept overall losses in check.
The TSX Composite Index was again positive, if only slightly, gathering 7.24 points, to begin Friday at 23,039.96.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.11 cents to 72.92 cents U.S.
Hydro One has priced an offering of $1.2 billion of medium-term notes. Hydro One shares dropped 19 cents to $44.09.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada told us Manufacturing sales declined 2.1% in June, mainly on lower sales of transportation equipment, chemicals, and primary metals, while housing starts zoomed to 279,000 in July from 241,000 in June.
Also, Canadian investors increased their exposure to foreign securities by $16.4 billion in June, mainly in U.S. shares. Meanwhile, foreign acquisitions of Canadian securities slowed to $5.2 billion in June, down from significant investments in the previous two months.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.45 points to 558.77.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups lost ground, weighed most by consumer discretionary, down 0.6%, while energy and industrials each faded 0.4%.
The four gainers were co-led by gold and materials, each up 1.9%, and financials, inching ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks hovered near the flatline Friday morning as investors looked toward the end of a week that has ushered in a recovery rally, with all three major indexes on pace to end the five-day stretch with gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial index fell 22.86 points to begin Friday at 40,540.20.
The S&P 500 index inched up 1.78 points to 5,545.
The NASDAQ garnered 25.91 points to 17,620.40.
For the week, The S&P 500 has added more than 3%, which puts the broad market index on track for its best week since November 2023. The NASDAQ is up 5% while the 30-stock Dow has advanced about 3%.
Shares of Nvidia are among the biggest winners among technology stocks on the week with a gain of 17%. Apple and Microsoft have advanced roughly 4% and 3%, respectively.
Retail sales data released Thursday came in much stronger than economists expected, while weekly jobless claims fell. Both offered evidence that recession fears, which helped spark a global selloff earlier this month, were overblown. Inflation readings released earlier this week bolstered hopes that a soft landing scenario was still possible.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained a bit, lowering yields to 3.90% from Thursday’s 3.92%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped $1.29 at $76.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices rallied $31.60 to $2,524.
Related Stories
