Equities in Canada’s largest market opened higher on Friday, boosted by industrial stocks, while investors evaluated a largely-in-line December inflation reading from the United States.
The TSX Composite eked up 15.05 points to begin the week’s final session at 21,116.59.
The Canadian dollar inched ahead 0.02 cents at 74.44 cents U.S.
Enerplus Corp announced on Thursday that it was expecting a hit to its first-quarter production numbers.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was down 0.79 points Friday at 549.38.
Eight of the 12 subgroups progressed in the first hour, with information technology up 1%, communications better 0.4%, and gold, inching up 0.2%.
The four laggards were weighed most by utilities, sliding 0.3%, materials down 0.1%, and financials off 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 was near flat on Friday as traders weighed a slate of mostly disappointing quarterly reports, including one that triggered a selloff in Intel
The Dow Jones Industrials started Friday ahead 60.6 points to 38,109.73.
The S&P 500 index faded 4.4 points to 4,889.76.
The NASDAQ shed 50.31points to 15,460.19.
The company known colloquially as “Mr. Chips” dropped 10% on the heels of disappointing fiscal first-quarter guidance. Semiconductor stock KLA Corp slid more than 3% after the company posted light revenue and earnings per share guidance for its fiscal third quarter. Visa shares shed more than 1% after the credit card company said it’s seeing slowing U.S. volumes.
Still, the major averages are tracking for a winning week. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite have added 1% each, while the Dow has gained 0.6%.
Both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ have climbed for the past six sessions. The benchmark S&P 500 has closed at a record high for five straight trading days, the longest streak of its kind since November 2021.
Stocks got a boost this week from encouraging economic data. More positive numbers came Friday.
December’s core personal consumption expenditures price index came in line with economists’ forecasts month over month, but was slightly lower than anticipated on an annualized basis, data released Friday shows. It’s a preferred gauge of inflation for the Federal Reserve, which sets monetary policy.
Friday’s PCE print came a day after gross domestic product data revealed higher-than-expected economic growth in the fourth quarter. That bolstered investors’ hopes that the economy has avoided a deep recession.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury reversed, raising yields to 4.16% from Thursday’s 4.13%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 17 cents to $77.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $1.50 to $2,019.50.
