It was a rough week, but Toronto stocks enjoyed sizable gains on Friday, with all sectors in the green.
The TSX Composite gained 161.86 points to close Friday at 22,264.38. On the week, the index gained 97 points, or 0.43%.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.25 cents at 73.58 cents U.S.
Gold stocks led the parade, with Wesdome Gold triumphing 63 cents, or 6%, to $11.08, while Oceanagold moved ahead 27 cents, or 9.2%, to $3.22.
Materials were next, as Pan American Silver hiked $1.29, or 5.7%, to $23.91, while Fortuna Silver Mines forged ahead 27 cents, or 4.4%, to $6.40.
In consumer staples, Maple Leaf Foods jumped 55 cents, or 2.3%, to $23.75, while George Weston progressed $3.50, or 2%, to $179.00.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said the economy shed 2,200 jobs in March. The unemployment rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 6.1% in March.
The IVEY PMI index jumped to 57.5 in March from 53.9 in February, but was down from March 2023's reading of 58.2.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange improved 5.45 points to 584.33, for a jump of nearly 21 points, or 3.7% on the week.
All 12 TSX subgroups were higher on the day, with gold skyrocketing 3.4%, materials, up 2%, and consumer staples improving 1.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rebounded Friday following the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s worst session in more than a year as traders cheered a stronger-than-expected jobs report and looked past a jump in rates.
The blue-chip index recovered 307.06 points to 38,904.04.
The S&P 500 hiked 57.13 points, or 1.1%, to 5,204.34.
The NASDAQ hiked 199.44 points, or 1.2%, to 16,248.52.
Despite Friday’s rebound, all three indexes posted a losing week. The Dow slid 2.3%, posting its worst week in 2024. The S&P 500 declined 0.95% week to date, while the NASDAQ lost 0.8%.
Job growth totaled 303,000 in March, which was better than expected, while the unemployment rate came in at 3.8% for the month, as expected. Nonfarm payrolls were expected to increase by 200,000, according to Dow Jones estimates. Wages rose 0.3% for the month and 4.1% from a year ago, both in line with estimates.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, boosting yields to 4.4% from Thursday’s 4.31%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up eight cents to $86.67 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hesitated $33.50 to $2,342.00 U.S. an ounce.
