Canada's main stock index edged higher on Friday as rising energy stocks countered a broader market weakness while investors assessed the latest U.S. jobs data for cues to the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory.
The TSX Composite gained 63.01 points to kick off the last session of the week at 20,341.52.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.12 cents at 73.65 cents U.S.
On a day empty of economic news, came word that brokerage J.P. Morgan downgraded MEG Energy to "neutral" from "overweight". MEG shares triumphed 48 cents, or 2%, to $24.11.
J.P. Morgan upgraded Imperial Oil to "neutral" from "underweight". Imperial stock sprinted $2.04, or 2.8%, to $74.79.
Elsewhere, Canadian Western Bank gained $1.05, or 3.5%, to $31.28 after reporting higher fourth-quarter adjusted profit per share.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange jumped 3.16 points to 537.17.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split, with energy soaring 1.1%, health-care better by 1%, and financials richer 0.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold and communications, off 1.1%, while consumer discretionary stocks dipped 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Friday after the November jobs report and University of Michigan consumer survey data signaled a resilient economy and cooling inflation, fueling the so-called soft landing narrative that the Federal Reserve — and many investors — have been hoping for.
The Dow Jones Industrials regained 102.85 points at 36,220.23.
The S&P 500 jumped 16.25 points to 4,601.84.
The NASDAQ gained 64.44 points to 14,404.44.
For the week, the NASDAQ’s gained 0.6%, while the S&P is up 0.1%. The Dow is on pace for a 0.1% weekly loss.
Carrier Global shares jumped more than 5% on news that it’s selling a business unit to Honeywell. The industrial stock lost 2%. First Solar popped 5% on an upgrade from Morgan Stanley.
November’s non-farm payrolls report showed an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury last up by 10 basis points at 4.23%. (One basis point equals 0.01%.)
The jobless rate fell to 3.7% in November from 3.9% the prior month. It was expected to remain the same. The economy added 199,000 jobs, slightly ahead of the 190,000 estimate from Dow Jones and well ahead the 150,000 jobs added in October.
Meanwhile, a closely watched University of Michigan survey showed inflation expectations drop and consumer sentiment jump in December to it highest level since July.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell, raising yields to 4.22% from Thursday’s 4.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
