Equities in Canada’s largest centre enjoyed a flourish to end the week, but still finished on the short end, over the last few days. Resource and consumer stocks powered Friday’s strength.
The TSX jumped 254.81 points to close Friday at 36,620.23. On the week, the index remained behind last week 110 points, or 0.3%.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.07 cents to 72.63 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Fairfax Financial, a frontrunner to acquire the government's IDBI Bank stake, is set to be allowed up to two years to consolidate its Indian bank holdings to smooth the acquisition.
Fairfax closed Friday up $4.14 to $2.241.47.
The materials sector flourished, with Lithium Americas, up 28 cents, or 6.9%, to $4.37, while Ivanhoe Mines hiked 87 cents, or 7.6%, to $12.29, and Lundin Mining advanced $1.90, or 5.3%, to $38.01.
Gold stocks led the pack, however, as Eldorado Gold raced $4.08. or 6.9%, to $62.97, while Alamos Gold hiked $1.50, or 3%, to $52.16.
Utilities put a damper on the markets by the end, with Emera sinking $2.63, or 3.7%, to $68.90, while Hydro One lost $1.92, or 3.5%, to $53.18.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada says June retail trade increased 0.6% to $74.3 billion in June. Sales were up in seven of nine subsectors, led by increases at general merchandise retailers.
On the trade front, Canadian and U.S. negotiators met for a third day in Washington on Friday, in a bid to seal a trade deal ahead of new American tariffs set to kick in on Saturday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange acquired 15.28 points, or 1.6%, to 988.37. The index popped 18.2 points, or 1.8%, on the week.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided, with gold sprinting 3%, while materials grew 2.8%, and consumer discretionary stocks progressed 1.3%.
The half-dozen laggards were led by utilities, down 2.4%, health-care, off 1%, and real-estate slid 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose on Friday as investors tried to find their footing following a steep selloff driven by rising Treasury yields.
The Dow Jones Industrials zoomed 517.80 points to 53,277.01, supported by gains in healthcare stocks such as Merck and Johnson & Johnson.
The financials sector offered a boost to the broader market, with crypto-related stocks seeing sizable gains as bitcoin headed for a weekly gain of 23%. Robinhood shares jumped 13%, while Coinbase added 7%.
The much-broader index picked up 33.21 points to 7,694.37.
The NASDAQ Composite hiked 113.29 points to 26,180.46.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury slumped, raising yields to 4.73% from Thursday’s 4.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded 16 cents to $86.67 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices spiked $104.20 to $4,675.60 U.S. an ounce.
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