Toronto’s main stock index opened higher on Friday ahead of Mark Carney’s appointment as prime minister of Canada, while still being set for a weekly loss amid growth concerns from an ongoing trade war.
The TSX Composite Index jumped 237.79 points, or 1%, to 24,411.02
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.18 cents to 69.50 cents U.S.
Ex-central banker Mark Carney will be formally sworn in as prime minister of Canada on Friday, putting him in a position to fight tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump that could devastate the trade-dependent Canadian economy.
Trump’s erratic tariff onslaught, along with retaliation from Canada and the European Union, have strained global trade relations and raised concerns about a potential economic recession in the U.S. and Canada.
In corporate news, Adentra on Thursday missed the fourth-quarter sales estimate and highlighted a slight decline in annual sales.
It’s a busy Friday, economically speaking.
Motor vehicle sales declined to 121,600 in January from 135,500 in December.
Elsewhere, manufacturing sales rose 1.7% in January, primarily due to higher sales of motor vehicles and petroleum and coal products.
Wholesale sales rose 1.2% to $85.1 billion in January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.56 points to 617.73.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green Friday, with information technology ahead 2.1%, materials better by 1.3%, and gold up 1.2%.
Only telecoms missed the party, losing 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Friday following a losing session that dragged the S&P 500 into correction territory.
The Dow Jones Industrials regained 416.77 points, or 1%, to 40,813.57, trying to end a four-day losing streak.
The much-broader index rebuilt 75.17 points, or 1.4%, to 5,596.69,
The NASDAQ zoomed 301.72 points, or 1.7%, to 17,604.74.
Nvidia shares popped more than 4%. Tesla and Meta Platforms gained more than 1% along with Netflix, Amazon and Apple.
Sentiment on Wall Street got a boost Friday as it appeared a government shutdown would be avoided. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said he wouldn’t block a Republican government funding bill.
However, data released Friday from the University of Michigan confirmed that consumer confidence has suffered from the ongoing tariff-related uncertainty, worries that have driven the market down the last three weeks.
Consumer sentiment dropped in March to 57.9, lower than the 63.2 economists polled by Dow Jones had expected.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell Friday, raising yields to 4.30% from Thursday’s 4.26%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added 21 cents to $66.76 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold leaped $6.10 an ounce to $2,997.40 U.S.
