Toronto shares rose at the market open on Friday, led by financials and technology, while sentiment remained positive on hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy tightening cycle is nearing an end.
The TSX diminished 5.45 points to begin the week’s last session at 20,272.19.
The Canadian dollar backed off 0.28 cents to 75.98 cents U.S.
Earlier this week, the Bank of Canada had lifted lending rates, as expected, to 5% and indicated further hikes as the central bank looks to bring down sticky inflation.
Meanwhile, dock workers at ports along Canada’s Pacific coast and their employers accepted a tentative wage deal on Thursday, ending a 13-day strike that disrupted trade at the country’s busiest port and risked worsening inflation.
CIBC upgraded gold miner Equinox Gold Corp to “neutral” from “underperform.” Equinox shares barely budged, gaining two cents to $6.89.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales rose 1.2% in May, mainly on higher sales of chemical products, motor vehicles, and machinery.
The Canadian Real Estate Association reported Friday that national home sales edged up 1.5% month-over-month in June. Actual (not seasonally-adjusted) monthly activity came in 4.7% above June 2022.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eased 2.01 points to 630.04.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split Friday, with financials, consumer staples and industrials each up 0.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed down by health-care, slumping 1.8%, energy, down 1.6%, and communications, off 1.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Friday as strong earnings results from some of the biggest banks and companies kicked off earnings season.
The 30-stock index gained 70.28 points to open Friday at 34,465.42.
The S&P 500 eked higher 1.6 points to 4,511.64.
The NASDAQ index grabbed 20.5 points to 14,159.08.
Markets have been buoyed this week by new economic data that suggested inflation may be cooling. On a weekly basis, the three major averages are well on their way to gains. The broad market index is up 2.5% on the week, while the Dow is up 1.9%, through Thursday’s close. The NASDAQ is the outperformer, leaping 3.5% and on pace for its best week since March 17.
Wall Street is coming off its fourth consecutive day of gains, with the NASDAQ and S&P 500 reaching their highest levels since April 2022.
JPMorgan Chase rose 1% after its second-quarter earnings topped expectations. The bank was boosted by higher interest rates and rising interest income. Wells Fargo also rose more than 3% on the back of better-than-expected results.
UnitedHealth shares jumped 7.3% after the insurance giant reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue. The company also raised the lower end of its full-year earnings guidance.
Expectations for this season are downbeat, with analysts forecasting a roughly 7% year-over-year drop in S&P 500 earnings, according to FactSet. That would mark the worst earnings season since the second quarter of 2020, when S&P 500 profits dropped 31.6%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, raising yields to 3.78% from Thursday’s 3.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices flopped $1.32 to $75.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dulled $3.10 to $1,960.70 U.S. an ounce.