Canada’s main stock index inched higher on Friday, and was on track to gain for a second consecutive week as commodity-linked shares advanced, although an escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis kept sentiment in check.
The TSX Composite index soared 152.02 points to finish the week at 21,402.43.
The Canadian dollar swooned 0.34 cents to $78.58.
Big gainers Friday proved to be Sunror Energy, up 75 cents, or 1.9%, to $39.96.
TD obtained 16 cents to $98.46. Nurtien shares zoomed $6.80, or 6%, to $120.53, while Canadian Natural Resources hiked $2.49, or 3.4%, to $74.98.
Enbridge shares strengthened 60 cents, or 1.1%, to $56.93.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 2.06 points to 847.24.
Seven of the 12 subgroups were higher, with gold brighter by4.3%, energy stronger 3.4%, and materials jumping 3%
The five laggards were weighed most by information technology, down 3.8%, health-care, skidding 3%, and consumer discretionary stocks, off 1.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Friday despite a stronger-than-expected jobs report as worrisome developments in Ukraine weighed on sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 179.86 points, or 0.53%, to close at 33,614.80. The S&P 500 declined 0.79% to 4,328.87, while Nasdaq Composite moved down 1.66% to 13,313.44.
The Dow, which was down more than 500 points at session lows, notched its fourth straight losing week.
For the week, the Dow and S&P 500 slid more than 1%. The NASDAQ lost more than 2%.
The decline for stocks followed reports that smoke was visible from a nuclear power plant in Ukraine — the largest in Europe — after Russian troops attacked. Reports Friday morning indicated that Russian forces had seized the plant in Zaporizhzhia. The U.S. embassy in Kyiv called the attack a war crime.
Financial stocks, which can benefit from higher interest rates, declined, with American Express losing 3.8% and JPMorgan Chase falling 2.8%.
Travel stocks were another weak spot on Friday, with shares of United Airlines falling more than 9%. Shares of Delta Air Lines and American Airlines dropped 5.6% and 7.1%, respectively. Major tech shares also declined, with Microsoft losing 2% and Apple falling 1.8%.
Energy stocks rose along with oil prices. Occidental Petroleum jumped more than 17%, while Diamondback Energy climbed 1.5%. Defensive sectors also outperformed. Walmart and UnitedHealth each rose 2.7%.
The developments in Ukraine appeared to overshadow a stronger-than-expected February jobs report. The economy added 678,000 jobs last month, above the 440,000 expected by economists, according to Dow Jones. The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.8%.