Equity markets in Toronto finished off a short, pre-Easter week in the green, with energy and communications issues leading the way higher.
The TSX Composite Index managed to hang onto 17.68 points worth of gains to conclude the week’s last session at 21,855.70, though there was a loss on the week of more than 18 points, or 0.09%.
Markets throughout North America are shuttered Friday for Good Friday.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.31 cents to 79.246 cents U.S.
Baytex Energy led that sector, pumping 52 cents, or 8.9%, to $6.35, while Advantage Oil & Gas gained 22 cents, or 2%, to end the week at $10.26.
Communications made a go of it Thursday, too, with Cogeco Communications triumphing $3.53, or 3%, to $110.91, while Rogers hoisted $!.02, or 1.4%, to $74.91.
In industrial stocks, Boyd Group Services shot up $4.09, or 2.4%, to $174.44, while Canadian Pacific took on $1.77, or 1.9%, to $96.70.
Tech stocks took some blows, however, notably, Shopify, down $23.25, or 3.1%, to $735.92, while Enghouse Systems fell $1.86, or 4.7%, to $37.44.
Cannabis issues stumbled, as Tilray slid 35 cents, or 4.4%, to $37.44, while Aurora Cannabis lost 17 cents, or 3.7%, to $7.68.
Also wounded were utilities, as Innergex Renewable doffed 43 cents, or 2.3%, to $18.10, while Brookfield Renewable lost 63 cents, or 1.3%, to $47.90.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported manufacturing sales improved 4.2% in February, mainly on higher sales of motor vehicle, food, and petroleum products.
Wholesale trade fell 0.4% in February to $78.8 billion, the first decline since last July.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched back 0.01 points to 892.50. On the four-day week, however, the index gained four points, or 0.48%.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split, with energy climbing 1.2%, communications progressing 1%, and industrials up 0.7%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by information technology, down 2.1%, health-care, ailing 1.9%, and utilities, fading 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 fell Thursday, capping a losing week as investors digested mixed earnings results from major banks and rising inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 113.36 points to 34,451.23.
The S&P 500 slouched 54 points, or 1.2%, to 4,392.59
The NASDAQ Composite withered 292.51 points, or 2.1%, to 13,351.08.
The S&P 500 was down 2.1% for the four-day holiday week. The NASDAQ Composite was off 2.6% and the Dow was down 0.78% for the week. Trading is closed at the NYSE on Friday.
Inflation fears drove tech shares lower on Thursday, as investors dropped growth stocks in favor of more stable assets. Microsoft dropped 2.7%, Apple tumbled 3%, and Google slipped 2.4%. Chip stocks also slumped with Nvidia dropping 4.3% and Advanced Micro Devices falling 4.8%.
Elsewhere in the market, Elon Musk offered to buy the social media company for $54.20 a share. Musk said this was his best and final offer for Twitter, which he said needs to be transformed privately in order to thrive. Shares for Twitter initially popped on the news, but afterwards dipped 1.9%. At the same time, Tesla shares dipped more than 3%.
On Thursday, major banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo posted their first-quarter earnings. Investors are watching how the banks navigated surging inflation and a recession warning from the bond market in the form of a flattening yield curve, as earnings season goes into full swing next week.
Retail sales figures for March slightly missed analyst expectations with a 0.5% gain, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
That’s compared to the 0.6% consensus estimate from Dow Jones.
Jobless claims jumped 185,000 for the week ending April 9, according to data from the U.S. Labor Department.
Treasury prices gained ground, putting yields back down to 2.83%, from Wednesday’s 2.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices rebounded $1.99 to $106.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $9.20 to $1,975.50 U.S. an ounce.
Losing Week for Broad Market on Earnings Statements