Equities in Canada’s largest sector Friday noon, as investors weighed U.S. inflation data and Canada's jobs report, while oil prices rose ahead of U.S.-Iran peace ?talks.
The TSX Composite Index rebounded 217.59 points to 33,695.30. On the week so far, the index has grown 587.08 points, or 1.78%.
The Canadian dollar sank 0.06 cents at 72.33 cents U.S.
Among individual movers, Cogeco Communications slipped $4.74, or 7.1%, to $61.96, after missing quarterly revenue estimates on weaker U.S. subscriptions.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported Friday that the economy gained only 14,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eased 0.07 points to 9.995.32, but on the week so far, the index has gained 17.9 points, or 1.8%.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground midday, as materials shot higher 1.8%, while information technology and gold each jumped 1.7%.
The three laggards were weighed most by consumer staples’ 2.8% collapse, while telecoms subtracted 0.6%, and industrials shied away
0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose slightly on Friday, with the index on pace to post a solid weekly gain, as traders kept an eye on the fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
The Dow Jones Industrials skidded 192.03 points to 47,993.73.
The broader index improved 5.32 points to 6,829.98.
The NASDAQ hiked 109.98 points to 22,931.80.
The broad market index traded up 0.1%, while the NASDAQ moved higher by 0.5%, bolstered by gains in key semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia and Broadcom. In contrast, the Dow slipped 158 points, or 0.3%.
March’s consumer price index report showed that inflation was in line with expectations, standing at 0.9% for the month and 3.3% on an annual basis. That incorporated a 10.9% jump in energy costs due to the conflict.
Palo Alto shares collapsed $12.49, or 7.5%, to $154.54, while those for CrowdStrike gave back $19.58, or 5%, to $375.10. This, after a major selloff on Thursday after faith in a partnership between these companies and AI giant Anthropic around its new Claude Mythos model faded.
Inflation was top of mind for investors this week as they assessed a number of key reports amid concerns that rising energy prices spurred by the conflict in the Middle East would ripple through the U.S. economy.
Nevertheless, the war has still led to a jump in inflation fears. According to a University of Michigan survey released Friday, consumers are anticipating that inflation will jump to 4.8% over the next year -- up a full percentage point from March’s reading.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell back a bit, raising yields to 4.32% from Wednesday’s 4.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.29 to $99.16 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dulled $29.50 to $4,788.50 U.S. an ounce.
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