Canada’s main stock index opened higher on Friday, boosted by technology and gold stocks, even as official data showed the nation posted a surprise trade deficit in May.
The TSX Composite index leaped 106.41 points to begin the week’s last session at 20,291.99.
The Canadian dollar marched forward 0.04 cents to 80.76 cents U.S.
Thursday, markets in Canada were closed in honour of Canada Day.
Tech shares shone brightest, and Lighstpeed proved the brightest of the bunch, gaining $2.65, or 2.6%, to $106.40.
Among gold stocks, OceanaGold climbed six cents, or 2.6%, to $2.41.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said, following four consecutive months of reaching new highs, the total value of building permits dropped a record $1.6 billion (-14.8%) to $9.5 billion in May.
The agency adds, every component was down, with multi-family dwellings in Ontario accounting for nearly three fifths of the overall national decline.
Also, Canada’s monthly international trade in services deficit widened from $303 million in April to $384 million in May.
In May, Canada’s merchandise imports increased 2.1%, while exports fell 1.6%. As a result, Canada’s merchandise trade balance widened, moving from a surplus of $462 million in April to a deficit of $1.4 billion in May.
Finally, the headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index® (PMI®) registered 56.5 in June, down from 57.0 in May, to signal the 12th consecutive expansion in operating conditions. The latest uptick was the softest since February, but was sharp in the context of the historical average.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 4.56 points to 965.25.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups moved higher, as information technology picked up 1.2%, gold climbed 1%, and consumer discretionary stocks increased 0.7%.
Only health-care stocks missed the party, sagging 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose at the open and the S&P 500 hit another record high after the June jobs report showed an accelerating recovery for the U.S. labour market.
The Dow Jones Industrials tacked on 30.79 points to open the last session before the Fourth of July weekend at 34,664.32.
The S&P 500 added 13.32 points to Wednesday’s record, registering at 4,333.26
The NASDAQ jumped 59.64 points to 14,582.02, to hit its own intraday all-time high.
For the week, the NASDAQ was up 1.1% as of Thursday’s close. The S&P 500 gathered 0.9% and Dow were up 0.6%.
The market was boosted in early trading by strong starts for semiconductor stocks and software names, including Salesforce. Tesla rose more than 3% after reporting a record for quarterly deliveries.
Shares of Boeing fell 2%, weighing on the Dow, after a 737 cargo plane made an emergency landing off the coast of Honolulu.
The U.S. economy added 850,000 jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting an addition of 706,000. The print topped the 559,000 jobs created in May.
The unemployment rate did come in at 5.9%, higher than expected.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys gained ground, lowering yields to 1.44% from Thursday’s 1.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 39 cents to $74.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $9.20 to $1,786 U.S. an ounce.