Stocks Surge to End Week

Investors in Toronto felt the good vibes south of the border, where new job numbers exceeded expectations, and sent indexes flying Friday.

The TSX Composite Index jumped 194.33 points to end Friday at 24,162.83. On the week, the index added 109 points, or 0.45%.

The Canadian dollar shed 0.14 cents to 73.67 cents U.S.

In corporate news, Canadian news and information conglomerate Thomson Reuters said it was selling its FindLaw business to Internet Brands. Thomson shares dropped $3.73, or 1.6%, to $225.22.

Tech firms ruled the roost Friday, with Quarterhill popping 12 cents, or 6.9%, to $1.85, while Shopify leaped $5.72, or 5.4%, to $111.70.

Energy was next, with Tamarack Valley Energy taking on 18 cents, or 4.5%, to $4.19, while Cenovus bounced 63 cents, or 2.6%, to $24.80.

Financials also had a good day, with CI Financial jumping 50 cents, or 2.6%, to $19.43, while Manulife was richer by 88 cents, or 2.2%. to $41.04.

Consumer staples let the side down, however, as North West Company bowed 79 cents, or 1.5%, to $51.86. Empire Company fell 58 cents, or 1.4%, to $40.72.

In real-estate, units of Boardwalk REIT handed back $1.58, or 1.9%, to $80.96, while Canadian Apartment REIT capsized 94 cents, or 1.8%, to $80.96.

Gold lost some luster, with Novagold tunneling 28 cents, or 5.7%, to $4.65, while New Gold retreated nine cents, or 2.3%, to $3.80.

On the economic front, the IVEY PMI survey for September rose to 53.1 from 48.2 in August. A reading above 50 indicates an increase in activity.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 5.34 points, or 1%, to 595.26. On the week, the index gained 7.15 points, or 1.2%.

Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground Friday, with information technology soaring 1.9%, while energy took on 1.1%, and financials were richer by 0.9%.

The four laggards were led by consumer staples sank 0.6%, while real-estate dipped 0.5%, and gold dulled 0.3%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks rose on Friday after an expectation-defying jobs report gave investors confidence around the health of the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrials surged 341.16 points to 42,352.75.

The S&P 500 index picked up 51.13 points to 5,751.07.

The NASDAQ Composite hiked 219.37 points, or 1.2%, to 18,137.85.

Friday’s bounce helped erase losses seen in recent days. Mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East gave way to a shaky start in October for stocks, a turn after the market posted an unusually strong first nine months of the year.

The S&P 500 500 was up 0.1% on the week, while the Dow and Nasdaq flickered around flat.

Tesla, Amazon and Netflix were among the megacap tech names climbing on Friday, explaining the NASDAQ’s outperformance.

Stocks initially popped after data showed nonfarm payrolls grew by 254,000 jobs in September, far outpacing the forecasted gain of 150,000 from economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% despite expectations for it to hold steady at 4.2%.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury dropped making yields pop to 3.97% from Thursday’s 3.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices improved 76 cents to $74.47 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices fell $8.20 to $2,671 U.S. an ounce


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