Toronto stocks ended barely higher Friday, after hitting a low they hadn’t seen in more than seven weeks on Friday, after recent data signaled persistent inflation and fueled fears of further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada.
The TSX recovered 6.16 points to close Friday and the week at 19,818.39. Over the last five sessions, the index gave up 589 points, or 2.9%.
The Canadian dollar was flat cents to 73.82 cents U.S.
Energy again proved el supremo among sectors, with Pason Systems surging 34 cents, or 2.5%, to $13.81, while Spartan Delta grew eight cents, or 2%, to $4.19.
Shares of Tilray Brands rose four cents, or 1.1%, to $3.62 after the pot producer said it had acquired the remaining 57.5% stake it did not own in cannabis-infused drinks maker Truss Beverage from Molson Coors.
Elsewhere among health issues, Sienna Senior Living captured 12 cents, or 1%, to $11.82.
Utilities scored well, too, as Northland Power roared ahead $1.06, or 4.5%, to $24.41, while Emera Corp. jumped 90 cents, or 1.8%, to $51.46.
Gold let the side down, however, as Iamgold chucked five cents, or 1.7%, to $2.89, while Eldorado Gold slumped 15 cents, or 1.3%, to $11.72.
Among consumer staples, North West Company shed 30 cents, or 1%, to $30.59, while Empire Company ditched 23 cents to $35.44.
In communications, Quebecor dipped 28 cents to $31.62, while TELUS lost 16 cents to $22.83.
The recent economic data has sparked a selloff across Canadian equities, with the benchmark index down over 3% this week.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada says in July, the Industrial Product Price Index increased 0.4% month over month and fell 2.7% year over year. The Raw Materials Price index rose 3.5% month over month in July and was 11.1% lower compared with July 2022.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched upward 0.39 points to 586.11, a loss on the week of more than 21 points, or 3.46%.
The 12 TSX subgroups were divided evenly between gainers and losers, with energy jumping 1%, while health-care and utilities each climbed 0.8%.
The half-dozen laggards were co-weighed by gold and consumer staples, each off 0.5%, and communications, down 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks closed Friday’s session with weekly losses, as Wall Street’s August struggles continue.
The Dow Jones Industrials fought their way up 25.83 points to wind up the session and the week at 34,500.66.
The S&P 500 index dropped 0.65 points to 4,369.71.
The NASDAQ index sank 26.16 to 13,290.78.
Keysight Technologies shares lost 14.4% on the back of a disappointing earnings report. Deere and Estee Lauder also fell about 5.2% and 3.1%, respectively, after announcing their earnings. Shares of major tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet continued their decline for the week.
The Dow suffered its worst week since March, lower by 2.6%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is headed for a third straight week of losses, a streak that hasn’t happened since February. The NASDAQ also sustained a third consecutive losing week for the first time since December.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 4.25% from Thursday’s 4.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved forward 90 cents to $81.29 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gathered $3.30 to $1,918.50 U.S. an ounce.