Equities in Canada’s largest market edged higher in a seesaw session on Friday, led by financial and energy stocks as investors raised bets for U.S. interest rate hikes this year after a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Yellen.
The S&P/TSX Composite was up 9.16 points to end the day and week at 14,639.88
The Canadian dollar faded 0.46 cents at 76.92 cents U.S.
The surge, however small, was led by tech stocks, as BlackBerry gained six cents to $10.38.
Industrials moved ahead, as Canadian Pacific Railway gathered $2.10, or 1.1%, to $199.03, while rival Canadian National gained 68 cents to $84.64.
Energy stocks came out slightly ahead, as EnCanada Corp. picked up 10 cents to $12.90.
Among utilities, Ontario Hydro sagged three cents to $26.28
In another losing group, telecoms, BCE faded 30 cents to $61.62, while TELUS Corp. doffed seven cents to $43.10.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 3.6 points to 805.53
The 12 subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, as information technology moved skyward 0.7%, industrials strengthened 0.5%, and energy was 0.3% to the good.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by utilities, down 1.1%, telecoms, off 0.5%, and real-estate, trailing Thursday’s finish by 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Equities in the United States closed mixed on Friday, with utilities lagging, as investors digested remarks made by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 63.9 points to 18,384.51, with Verizon leading decliners and Intel the top advancer.
The S&P 500 sagged 3.43 points to 2,169.04, with utilities leading nine sectors lower and health-care the only riser.
The NASDAQ Composite regained 6.71 points to 5,218.92. While up on the day, the tech-heavy index finished lower on the week for the first time in eight weeks.
Fischer spoke after Yellen, who said in a much-anticipated speech Friday at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole, Wyoming summit that the case for a rate hike has gained strength "in recent months."
Market expectations for a rate hike in September, the Fed's next meeting, were at 18%, according to some prognosticators.
Investors also digested the second read on second-quarter U.S. gross domestic product, which showed growth of 1.1%, down from the initial read of 1.2%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury slid, raising yields to 1.62% from Thursday’s 1.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were unchanged at $47.33 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices fell 20 cents at $1,324.40 U.S. an ounce.
