It had a long road from which to return, but markets in Toronto strengthened Friday to minimize some of the gigantic losses it had suffered during a very rough week.
The TSX gained 185.54 points to close Friday to 24,549.48. On the week, the index gave back 724 points, or 2.87%.
The Canadian dollar progressed 0.17 cents to 69.60 cents U.S.
Health-care led the charge, with Tilray taking on five cents, or 3%, to $1.72, while Bausch Health Companies growing 26 cents, or 2.4%, to $10.90.
In materials, First Quantum Minerals seized $1.27, or 1.2%, to $18.68, while Hudbay Minerals tacked on 54 cents, or 4.7%, to $11.94.
Gold stocks also shone, as Iamgold jumped 29 cents, or 4%, to $7.64, while Equinox Gold gained 22 cents, or 3%.
BlackBerry shares surged 88 cents, or 20.6%, to $5.16 after the security software firm beat quarterly revenue estimates.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada said retail trade increased 0.6% to $67.6 billion in October. Sales were up in five of nine subsectors and were led by increases at motor vehicle and parts dealers.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange improved 4.29 points Friday to 586.88, floundering 21 points on the week, or 3.45%.
All 12 TSX subgroups were higher, with health-care springing 3.1,%, gold better by 1.7%, and materials moving forward 1.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced on Friday to close out a tough week that saw the index plunge 1,100 points in a single day and complete its longest losing streak since the 1970s. Some cooler-than-expected inflation data helped fuel Friday’s bounce.
The 30-stock index popped 498.02 points, or 1.2%, to 42,840.26.
The S&P 500 index recovered 63.77 points, or 1.1%, to 5,930.85
The NASDAQ rocketed 199.83 points, or 1%, to 19,572.60
November’s reading of the personal consumption expenditures price index – the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric - increased 2.4% year-over-year. That was a tad less than economists expected and helped defuse some of the bearishness that arose earlier this week when the Fed said it would dial back future rate cuts in part because of stubborn inflation.
Stocks that were taking losses earlier in the session such as Nvidia and Tesla led the Friday comeback. Tesla was last higher by about 1%. Nvidia gained 2%.
After Friday’s jump, the Dow was on pace for a 2% loss for the week.
The Dow is down 3.4% on the week, headed for its worst weekly performance since March 2023. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ are each off around 3% on the week.
During Thursday’s trading session, the Dow eked out a 15-point gain and ended a 10-day losing streak — its longest since 1974. The small gain came a day after the Dow plunged 1,100 points on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve indicating this week that the central bank would cut interest rates fewer times next year than traders’ want was the catalyst for the market’s plunge on Wednesday.
Weighing on sentiment Friday was the failure Thursday night of a Trump-endorsed House Republican measure to fund the government for three months and avert a government shutdown. Without a deal, a partial shutdown is slated to start Friday night.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury rallied, lowering yields to 4.53% from Thursday’s 4.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shifted to gains of 15 cents to $69.53 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold regrouped $34.80 an ounce to $2,642.90 U.S.
