Markets in Toronto managed to hold onto positive readings by Friday’s close, mostly on the strength of tech stocks.
The TSX gained 11.76 points to conclude Friday at 25,691.80. On the week, the gain was nearly 44 points, or 0.17%.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.68 cents to 70.64 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Wheaton Precious Metals announced the acquisition of a gold stream from Allied Gold’s Kurmuk project. Wheaton shares dropped $1.48, or 1.7%, to $86.82, while Allied fell three cents to $3.40.
Among sectors, information technology led the gains, boosted by a jump of $8.26, or 5.2%, in e-commerce firm Shopify, which ended the week at $168.34. Bitfarms exploded 29 cents, or 9.8%, to $3.24.
The heavyweight financials sector rose buoyed by Laurentian Bank jumping $1.55, or 5.3%, to $30.57, after exceeding quarterly profit estimates, and Bank of Montreal, gaining $6.60, or 4.7%, to $146.32 following an upgrade by CIBC.
In consumer discretionary stocks, BRP Inc. gained $4.70, or 6.9%, to $72.75, while Dollarama grabbed $1.82, or 1.3%, to $142.04.
Energy stocks did not fare so well, as Tamarack Valley Energy dished off 20 cents, or 4.3%, to $4.44, while MEG Energy dipped 84 cents, or 3.4%, to $23.80.
Materials also slumped, as Capstone Mining lost 23 cents, or 2.5%, to $9.16, while Fortuna Silver Mines flopped 20 cents, or 2.9%, to $6.68.
In gold stocks, Torex Gold stumbled $3.75, or 11.8%, to $28.16, while Iamgold handed over 25 cents, or 3.2%, to $7.57.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada says the economy created 51,000 (+0.2%) in November. The unemployment rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 6.8%, as more people looked for work.
Also, the IVEY PMI nicked ahead to 52.3 in November, from 52 in October, well off the 54.7 reading of November 2023.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange poked ahead 1.93 points to 610.22, declining on the week four points, or 0.66%.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower at the closing bell, with energy falling 1.9%, materials settling 1%, and gold down 0.9%.
The four gainers were led by information technology, vaulting 1.9%, financials, up 0.4% and consumer discretionary stocks, eking up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite rose to fresh intraday highs on Friday after November jobs data came in slightly better than expected, but not so hot as to deter the Federal Reserve from cutting rates again later this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial index subsided 123.19 points to end the day at 44,642.52
The much-broader index gained 15.16 points to 6,090.27
The NASDAQ Composite surged 159.05 points to 19,816.37, bolstered by a 3% gain in Tesla and 2% gains in Meta and Amazon.
The November labor report, released on Friday morning, revealed that non-farm payrolls increased by 227,000 in November, above the Dow
Jones estimate of 214,000 and marking a huge hike from October’s gain of just 12,000. The unemployment rate nudged up to 4.2%, as expected.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury hiked, lowering yields to 4.15% from Thursday’s 4.18%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $1.12 to $67.18 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold regained $6.70 an ounce to $2,655.10 U.S.
