Stocks Positive on Day, Week
The TSX Composite gained 161.86 points to reach noon Friday at 22,213.65. On the week so far, the index had gained 46 points, or 0.2%.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.26 cents at 73.57 cents U.S.
Laurentian Bank of Canada gave up earlier gains and slid 21 cents to $27.43, after it entered an agreement to sell assets of its retail investor broker division.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said the economy shed 2,200 jobs in March. The unemployment rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 6.1% in March.
The IVEY PMI index jumped to 57.5 in March from 53.9 in February, but was a down from March 2023's reading of 58.2.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange improved 4.62 points to 583.50.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher midday, with gold shooting ahead 3%, while materials rocketed 1.9% and information technology vaulted 1.2%,
Utilities slumped 0.4%, which health-care ailed 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rebounded Friday following the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s worst session in more than a year as traders cheered a stronger-than-expected jobs report and looked past a jump in rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 379.98 points, or 1%, to 38,976.96. The Dow tumbled about 530 points, or 1.35%, on Thursday, marking its biggest daily drop since March 2023 and its fourth consecutive losing session.
The S&P 500 gained 66.33 points, or 1.3%, to 5,213.94.
The NASDAQ hiked 239.09 points, or 1.5%, to 16,288.17.
Despite Friday’s rebound, all three still headed for a losing week.
Overall this week, higher rates have plagued stocks. The Dow has led the three major indexes down this week, pacing for a loss of about 2%.
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ have each slid around 1%.
Job growth totaled 303,000 in March, which was better than expected, while the unemployment rate came in at 3.8% for the month, as expected. Nonfarm payrolls were expected to increase by 200,000, according to Dow Jones estimates. Wages rose 0.3% for the month and 4.1% from a year ago, both in line with estimates.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, boosting yields to 4.37% from Thursday’s 4.31%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up 45 cents to $87.04 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hesitated $36.30 to $2,344.80 U.S. an ounce.
Provided Content: Content provided by Baystreet. The Globe and Mail was not involved, and material was not reviewed prior to publication.
