Equities in Canada’s biggest market opened higher on Friday despite losses in energy stocks, while investors focused on domestic retail sales data.
Canada's main stock index opened slightly lower on Friday as losses in energy stocks countered gains led by real estate shares, while investors focused on domestic retail sales data.
The TSX jumped 74.94 points Friday to 25,465,62.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.03 cents to 71.54 cents U.S.
In corporate news, convenience stores operator Alimentation Couche-Tard is not considering a hostile takeover bid for Japanese retail company Seven & i, Nikkei business daily reported. Couche-Tard shares grabbed 15 cents to $78.84.
In news economic, Statistics Canada reported its new housing price index fell 0.4% in October, the largest monthly decline since April 2009. However, the picture was mixed across the country, as prices were down in 9 out of 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed, but unchanged in 11 CMAs and up in the remaining seven.
Retail sales increased 0.4% to $66.9 billion in September. Sales were up in six of nine subsectors and were led by increases at food and beverage retailers.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sifted off 3.03 points to 596.08.
All but three of the 12 subgroups were higher, led by industrials, better by 1.1%, while consumer staples and gold each took on 0.8%.
The three laggards proved to be information technology, down 0.3%, communications, off 0.1%, and health-care, worse off 0.0.4%
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced on Friday as the major U.S. averages headed for weekly gains.
The 30-stock index hiked 182.47 points to 44,052.82.
The S&P 500 index gathered 5.54 points to 5,954.25.
The NASDAQ Composite slid 29.92 points to 18,942.50, hurt by slides of more than 2% in Nvidia and 1% in Alphabet.
All three major averages are on track to end the week higher by more than 1%. That marks a turn from last week, when Wall Street’s postelection rally stalled.
Shares of Gap jumped more than 7% after the company beat earnings estimates and hiked its full-year sales guidance. However, Intuit slid more than 4% even after its quarterly report exceeded expectations on the top and bottom lines.
Elsewhere, investors kept an eye on bitcoin as it neared the long-awaited milestone of $100,000.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost a bit, raising yields to 4.43% from Thursday’s 4.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 58 cents to $70.68 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold hiked $26.80 an ounce to $2,701.70 U.S.
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