Canada’s main stock index rose on Friday as heavyweight energy and mining stocks gained, while BlackBerry dived to the bottom of the index after its revenue missed market estimates.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index remained above water 39.02 points to break for lunch Friday at 21,929.18.
The Canadian dollar docked 0.04 cents to 79.95 cents U.S.
The healthcare sector rose with pot producers Canopy Growth up 24 cents, or 2.5%, to $9.72, Tilray Brands advancing 45 cents, or 4.6%, to $10.14, and Aurora Cannabis up 18 cents, or 3.6%, to $5.16.
Adding further gains were Toronto-listed tech stocks.
Shopify Inc, Canada’s third-biggest company by market value, rose $23.53, or 2.8%, to $869.00.
Despite the recent market volatility caused by the Ukraine war and rising inflation, the TSX has outperformed many global peers thanks to surging commodity prices.
For its part, BlackBerry Ltd fell $1.05, or 11.3%, to $8.22, after the company missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates as growth at its cybersecurity business, its biggest, was flat due to increased competition.
On the economic slate, Markit Canada reported its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index
registered at 58.9 in March, up solidly from 56.6 in February, to become the highest reading in the survey’s eleven-and-a-half-year history.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange popped 8.46 points, or 1%, to 900.89.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided midday, with health-care springing 2.5%, energy better by 1.8%, and materials rumbling 1.3%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by industrials, sliding 1.8%, while consumer staples backpedaled 1%, and financials were 0.3% the poorer.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were little changed on Friday as investors assessed a new quarter of trading and a troublesome bond market recession indicator.
The Dow Jones Industrials dived into the red 84.69 points at noon hour to 34,593.66
The S&P 500 sagged 14 points to 4,516.41.
The NASDAQ Composite declined 51.02 points to 14,169.50.
Wall Street is fresh off its first negative quarter in two years, but there were positive signs for investors on Friday.
Materials stocks outperformed in early trading, with Freeport-McMoRan rising more than 3%. Big bank stocks struggled, with Citigroup shedding 2.2%.
U.S.-listed Chinese stocks jumped on Friday after a report that China was considering sharing company audits with foreign regulators. The so-called meme stocks also advanced, with Gamestop jumping 9% after announcing a plan to split its stock.
Investors were also digesting the official jobs report for March, which showed the U.S. economy adding 431,000 jobs. The result was below the composite estimate of 490,000 but above some of the lower end estimates.
Treasury prices flopped Friday, with yields leaping to 2.38%, from Thursday’s 2.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 89 cents to $99.39 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices removed $24.90 to $1,929.10 U.S. an ounce.
U.S. Stocks Dawdle by Midday, Trying to Come Back from Downward Q1