Equities in Canada hit a record high on Friday, mirroring upbeat sentiment on Wall Street as investor bets on U.S. rate cuts remained firm despite slightly hotter-than-expected producer price numbers.
The TSX Composite Index surged 159.83 points to 22,703.96.
The Canadian dollar regrouped 0.06 cents to 73.45 cents U.S.
On the Toronto Stock Exchange, communication services stocks led the charge. Cogeco Communications gained $2.41, or 4.7%, to $54.25 after its third-quarter revenue beat analysts’ estimates, boosting the sector.
Canadian inflation data due next week will have investors adjust their rate-cut bets ahead of the Bank of Canada’s next monetary policy meeting on July 24.
Among individual stocks, Aritzia topped the TSX index with a rise of $5.28, or 12.7%, to $46.79, after its first-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates.
In the economic data Friday, Statistics Canada reported the total monthly value of building permits in Canada decreased 12.2% to $11.7 billion in May
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 3.06 points to 589.61.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups made gains midday Friday, with consumer discretionary and communications stocks each up 1.1%, and information technology marching 1%.
Only health-care missed out, dropping 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial average soared to a new high on the back of gains in Home Depot and Caterpillar as investors started to embrace some stocks outside of the technology bull market leaders this week.
The 30-stock index plowed ahead 299.42 points to 40,053.17. It was its first time above 40,000 since topping that round number milestone in late May. Home Depot added 2
The S&P 500 index picked up 43.77 points to 5,628.31.
The NASDAQ grabbed 167.65 points to 18,451.05.
The market rallied even after meager reactions to banks’ second-quarter earnings. JPMorgan shares were 1% lower even as the bank posted second-quarter revenue higher than Wall Street expectations on a jump in investment banking fees. Citi stock dipped 3% despite beating on the top and bottom line in the second quarter.
Wells Fargo shares tumbled 7% after the bank said net interest income, a key measure of lending profitability for banks, fell short of expectations in the second quarter.
Nvidia bounced 2% on Friday as investors couldn’t resist some of their favorite tech names which had sold off the day before.
A reading of wholesale inflation came in slightly hotter than expected on Friday, but Wall Street largely ignored those figures after a drop in the consumer price index a day earlier that spurred optimism the Federal Reserve would cut rates in September.
Investors’ move out of tech stocks on Thursday was spurred by a consumer price index report that showed a 0.1% monthly decline in June.
Traders flocked to areas of the market that will benefit from Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, including small-cap stocks.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.19% from Thursday’s 4.21%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices edged ahead 11 cents at $82.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $5.80 to $2,416.10
