Canada's main stock index hit a record high on Friday, driven by gains in energy and gold stocks as underlying commodity prices firmed, although the country lost more jobs than expected in May due to lockdowns.
The TSX regained 56.76 points to approach noon Friday at 19,998.15.
The Canadian dollar restocked 0.15 to 82.72 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Ivanhoe Mines, which jumped 36 cents, or 4.2%, to $8.96, and Wesdome Gold Mines, which rose 53 cents, or 4.7%, to $11.89.
Blackberry fell $1.18, or 6.2%, the most on the TSX, to $17.94, after "meme stocks" rally appeared to fizzle out at the end of a
second week of stunning gains.
The second biggest decliner was Organigram Holdings, down 12 cents, or 3.1%, to $3.82.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported the economy lost 68,000 jobs in May, adding to a decline of 207,000 in April. The unemployment rate was little changed at 8.2%.
Western University’s IVEY School of Business reported its Purchasing Managers Index progressed to 64.7 in May, from 60.6 in April, and towering above the 39.1 reading in May 2020
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.3 points to 973.16
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, with materials ahead 1.6%, gold gaining 1.2%, and information technology up 0.6%.
The four laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 2.1%, while financials docked 0.3%, and real-estate was off 0.2% each.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks climbed on Friday as the key May jobs report showed solid gains, boosting confidence in the economic comeback.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 121.81 points at 34,698.85
The S&P 500 gathered 31.05 points to 4,223.90. The equity benchmark has lost about 0.3% this week through Thursday.
The NASDAQ popped 186.15 points, or 1.4% to 13,800.64.
Meme stocks continued their wild prices swings on Thursday, especially AMC Entertainment. The movie theater chain’s stock swung between losses and gains after shedding 18% in the previous session.
BlackBerry also traded lower Friday, but shares are still up more than 50% on the week.
The U.S. economy added 559,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department said on Friday. The number came in slightly lower than an estimate of 671,000 from economists surveyed by Dow Jones, but still showed a healthy rebound in the labour market as it’s up from a disappointing 266,000 payrolls added in April.
The unemployment rate fell to 5.8% from 6.1%, which was better than the estimate of 5.9%. Many believe the jobs report, while solid, is not strong enough to trigger the Federal Reserve to dial back its bond buying program.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys hiked, lowering yields to 1.57% from Thursday’s 1.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 50 cents to $69.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices grabbed $23.90 to $1,896.30 U.S. an ounce.
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