Stocks paused on Friday following the previous day's strong gains, as economists and other observers began to digest the European agreement to solve the sovereign-debt crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 12,231.11, up 22.56 points, or 0.2 per cent. The broader S&P 500 closed at 1,285.08, up 0.49 of a point – with gains by commodity producers offsetting declining consumer stocks. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index closed at 12,519.51, up 54.07 points, or 0.4 per cent.
Commodities were little changed, with crude oil falling 64 cents, to $93.32 (U.S.) a barrel. Gold fell 50 cents, to $1,747.20 an ounce. However, commodity producers were among some of the biggest movers. Among Canadian gold producers, Barrick Gold Corp. rose 3.9 per cent and Goldcorp Inc. rose 3.8 per cent. Among other commodity producers, Suncor Energy Inc. rose 0.8 per cent, Teck Resources Ltd. rose 2.9 per cent and Alcoa Inc. rose 3.3 per cent.
U.S. financials, which led the rally on Thursday, continued to show some gains. Bank of America Corp. rose 4.3 per cent and Citigroup Inc. rose 1.2 per cent.
However, consumer stocks were weak following a U.S. report showing that wages barely budged in September and consumer confidence remains low. Home Depot Inc. fell 3.3 per cent and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fell 1.1 per cent.
David Berman