Canada's main stock index rose on Friday by the most in five weeks, led by gains for Aritzia and metal mining shares, as weaker-than-expected domestic jobs data reduced expectations for Bank of Canada interest rate hikes.
The TSX Composite Index spiked 519.24 points, or 1.5%, to close Friday at 35,664.62. On the week, the index gained 345 points, or 0.98%.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.02 cents to 70.15 cents U.S.
Shares of Aritzia surged $25.02, or 20.5%, to $146.91, after the apparel retailer topped analyst expectations for second-quarter revenue and profit.
Communication services stocks were a drag, with Cogeco Communications falling $3.73, or 7.1% to $48.70, and BCE down $1.55, or 5.5%, to $26.80.
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.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 6.27 points to 874.03, for a drop of 2.66 points on the week, or 0.3%.
All but three of the 12 subgroups gained ground, with gold brighter 2.9%, materials surging 2.8%, and consumer discretionary issues up 2.7%.
The three laggards were telecoms, down 4.2%, health-care off 0.7%, and telecoms, lower by 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Friday, supported by the tech sector, as traders look to rebound from a volatile week of elevated Treasury yields and oil prices as well as declines in the artificial intelligence trade.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 423.31 points to 51,654.95.
The S&P 500 index was positive 46.18 points to 7,811.54
The tech-heavy NASDAQ rocketed 172.83 points to 27,366.17.
Stocks reached their highs of the day after President Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to supply diesel to both the U.S. and global markets.
Oil prices, which closed marginally higher with West Texas Intermediate crude futures at nearly $92 per barrel and Brent crude futures above $104, were down slightly after the announcement post-settle.
SpaceX shares rose 1% after the Elon Musk-led space and satellite company announced a deal to buy a nationwide spectrum portfolio. In contrast, shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile slid as investors wondered worried the agreement could drive up competition.
Other tech names advanced on Friday alongside SpaceX. Software stocks led the way, with Palo Alto Networks gaining 5%, and CrowdStrike and Palantir Technologies increasing 4% and 5%, respectively. Microsoft advanced 2%, while fellow “Magnificent Seven” member Amazon added 3%.
Outside of tech, healthcare was another standout sector, with names such as Merck and Gilead Sciences each jumping more than 2%. Vaccine stocks like Moderna also popped on optimism surrounding reported National Institutes of Health cancer vaccine efforts.
Tech stocks, especially those related to AI, were a sore spot on Thursday after media reports confirmed that 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 one expert 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 5.24% from Thursday’s 5.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 17 cents to $91.66 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $63.30 to $4,220.30 U.S. an ounce.
