Equities in Toronto moved higher on Friday as rising energy stocks countered a broader market weakness while investors assessed the latest U.S. jobs data for cues to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate trajectory.
The TSX Composite gained 53.03 points Friday to finish the week at 20,331.54. Over the last five sessions, the index lost 121 points, or 0.6%.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.06 cents at 73.59 cents U.S.
Energy topped the list of sectors which showed muscle, Imperial Oil racing $2.57, or 3.5%, to $75.32, while Paramount Resources copped 76 cents, or 3%, to $26.12.
In financials, Nuvei Corp. gained $1.68, or 5.5%, to $32.31, while goeasy Ltd. jumped $5.16, or 3.6%, to $148.22.
Techs also had a field day, with Bitfarms popping 59 cents, or 20.2%, to $3.51. while HUT 8 Mining jumped $1.10, or 8.6$, to $13.91.
Gold weighed heaviest on the laggards, with Lundin Gold settling 50 cents, or 3% to $16.14, while Equinox Gold sank 24 cents, or 3.5%, to $6.89.
In communications stocks, TELUS dished off 66 cents, or 2.6%, to $25.09, while Quebecor shed 20 cents to $30.95.
Utilities were also punished, with Altagas surrendering 52 cents, or 1.8%, to $27.90, while Innergex Renewable lost 13 cents, or 1.4%, to $8.98.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange finished in the green 3.49 points to 537.50, for a loss of 8.8 points on the week, or 1.6%.
Five of the 12 subgroups were higher, as energy copped a gain of 1.5%, while financials and information technology each moved ahead 0.8%.
The seven laggards were weighed most by gold, down 1.6%, while communications were off 0.8%, and utilities slid 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Friday to hit a new high for the year after the November jobs report and University of Michigan consumer survey data signaled a resilient economy and cooling inflation, fueling hopes for a so-called soft-landing scenario.
The Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 130.36 points to 36,247.74.
The S&P 500 progressed 18.79 points to 4,604.38.
The S&P 500 posted its highest close of the year last week, but had yet to exceed its 2023 intraday high set in July until Friday, when it topped 4,609 in afternoon trading. The benchmark is now up 20% on the year and trading at its highest level back to March 2022.
The NASDAQ gained 63.98 points to 14,403.97.
For the week, the NASDAQ gained 0.7%, while the S&P was up 0.3%. The Dow was on track for a 0.1% gain.
Shares of Boeing, FedEx, and Costco hit new highs for the year on Friday as investors bet the economy would skirt a recession.
November’s non-farm payrolls report showed an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate,
The jobless rate fell to 3.7% in November from 3.9% the prior month. It was expected to remain the same. The economy added 199,000 jobs, slightly ahead of the 190,000 estimate from Dow Jones and well ahead the 150,000 jobs added in October.
Meanwhile, a closely watched University of Michigan survey showed inflation expectations drop and consumer sentiment jump in December to its highest level since July.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell, raising yields to 4.23% from Thursday’s 4.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.85 to $71.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $27.70 to $2,018.90.