Toronto stocks opened higher on Friday led by health-care and industrial stocks, after a slew of economic data from the U.S. and Canada boosted optimism that the Fed’s recent rate hike might be the last in its tightening cycle.
The TSX hiked 137.12 points to kick off the week’s last session at 20,522.59.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.02 cents to 75.60 cents U.S.
TC Energy, which has been looking to sell assets and cut debt, said on Thursday it would spin off its oil pipeline business and focus on transporting natural gas. TC shares slipped $2.41, or 5.1%, to $44.89.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported real gross domestic product rose 0.3% in May, as services-producing industries advanced 0.5% while goods-producing industries contracted 0.3%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange restored 4.28 points to 615.85.
All 12 TSX subgroups gained ground in the first hour, with health-care leaping 1.9%, while industrial and information technology progressed 1.6% each.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Friday with the Dow Jones Industrial average and S&P 500 set to close out their third winning week in a row as a measure of inflation closely watched by the Federal Reserve came in at its lowest in nearly two years.
The 30-stock index recovered 151.1 points to commence Friday at 35,443.82
The S&P 500 Index rebounded 39.24 points to 4,576.65.
The NASDAQ index popped 234.71 points, or 1.7%, to 14,284.82.
The Dow and the NASDAQ are on pace for narrow weekly gains. The 30-stock average is up 0.16%, while the tech-heavy index has a 0.12% gain through Thursday’s close. The S&P 500 is flat on the week, up only 0.02%.
Earnings season continued with Dow member Procter & Gamble shares gaining more than 1.1% in premarket trading Friday. The consumer goods company behind Tide and other brands beat analysts’ earnings and revenue expectations in its most recent quarter.
Intel jumped more than 7% as investors applauded a return to profitability, while Roku climbed 8% after beating Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines.
On the other hand, Ford Motor shares fell about 1.4% even though the automaker beat estimates and raised guidance. The company said its electric vehicle adoption was taking longer than expected due to higher costs.
June data for the personal consumption expenditures price index continued to show easing inflation. The gauge showed PCE gained 0.2% month-over-month, in line with the 0.2% increase expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Core PCE rose 4.1% from the year-ago period, lower than the anticipated 4.2%.
The data is of particular interest after the central bank raised interest rates earlier this week in a widely expected move. The Fed targets inflation at 2% annually.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury jumped, lowering yields to 3.96% from Wednesday’s 4.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices docked 25 cents to $79.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $10.20 to $1,955.900 U.S. an ounce.
Dow Recovers