Equities in Canada’s largest market rose on Friday in broad-based gains as investors assessed weaker-than-expected jobs data that reinforced bets that the Bank of Canada will keep interest rates on hold at its meeting later this month.
The TSX Composite Index spiked 381.72 points, or 1.1%, to greet noon Friday at 35,527.10. On the week so far, the index has gained 208 points, or 0.59%.
The Canadian dollar scampered lower 0.24 cents to 70.01 cents U.S.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said employment declined by 68,000 (-0.3%) in September. The unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points to 6.5%.
Odds of an interest rate raise by the BoC at its next meeting dipped to 27% from 40% after the data.
Investors still price in a 25-basis-point rate hike at its December meeting.
Aritzia shares surged $18.28, or 15%, to $140.17, after the apparel retailer topped analyst expectations for second-quarter revenue and profit.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 10.15 points, or 1.2%, to 877.91, for a drop of 2.66 points on the week, or 0.3%.
All but three of the 12 subgroups gained ground, with gold and materials each surging 2.7%, and information technology up 2.1%.
The three laggards were telecoms, down 2.9%, health-care off 0.7%, and consumer staples, lower 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Friday, supported by technology stocks, following a losing session in which an underwhelming revenue report from OpenAI took
some steam out of the high-flying artificial intelligence trade.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 246 points to 51,477.64.
The S&P 500 index was positive 34.66 points to 7,800.02
The tech-heavy NASDAQ 131.65 points to 27,324.99.
Tech shares broadly were led by a 2% gain in SpaceX. The Elon Musk-led space and satellite company rose on a deal to buy a nationwide spectrum portfolio. Shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile slid as investors wondered worried the agreement could drive up competition.
Other tech names that advanced on Friday include Lumentum which gained 6%, and Oracle, up 5%.
AI stocks dropped on Thursday after media reports OpenAI told investors that it saw $50 billion in annualized revenue at the end of September. Last month, a $68-billion figure was widely reported, though a person familiar with the matter said it also included gross revenue from partners.
The NASDAQ dropped more than 1%, marking its biggest one-day loss since mid-August. Thursday marked the second down day in a row for the tech-heavy index after it climbed to fresh all-time records earlier in the week.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, lifting yields to 5.26% from Thursday’s 5.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 54 cents to $92.03 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $52.30 to $4,209.30 U.S. an ounce.
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