TORONTO — The Toronto Stock Exchange gained Friday, despite some weak economic data south of the border, as gold prices rebounded from a stiff drop on Thursday.
The S&P/TSX composite index advanced 46.92 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 11,407.68, while the TSX Venture Exchange added 9.15 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 1,359.90. Both the senior and junior exchange closed the week up 1.4 per cent.
"Equities may be benefiting from generally improving investor sentiment and anticipation of Monday's U.S. retail sales data, which could set the tone for next week," said Colin Cieszynski, market analyst at CMC Markets Canada.
"Like equities, commodities also held their own (Friday) in the face of weak U.S. economic data, which suggests that investors still appear to be anticipating a wider global recovery."
Confidence among U.S. consumers dropped in November as the University of Michigan preliminary sentiment index decreased to a three-month low of 66 from 70.6 in October. Meanwhile, a report from the U.S. Commerce Department said the U.S. trade gap widened 18 per cent to the highest level since January.
Geoffrey Somes, vice-president and senior economist at State Street Global Advisors, said falling consumer confidence reflects "an alarming persistence of extreme consumer malaise."
"Indeed, the nearly five-point drop in the latter seems to signal substantial impatience with an economic recovery in which jobs continue to disappear and unemployment rises alarmingly fast," he wrote in a report.
Gainers outpaced losers slightly in Toronto as seven of 10 sub-indexes closed in positive territory. The materials group was up 1.53 per cent, energy stocks rose 0.41 per cent and financials dipped 0.12 per cent.
Mega Brands Inc. climbed 63 per cent to a $1.39 after the toy maker posted a third-quarter profit of $1.22 a share, or 14 cents excluding items.
Power Corp. of Canada fell 2.5 per cent after it reported earnings that missed analysts' estimates. The Montreal-based holding company said net income was $250 million, down from $332 million.
On commodity markets, crude oil fell 59 cents to $76.35 U.S. a barrel, while gold jumped $10.10 to $1,116.70 U.S. an ounce.
The Canadian dollar added 50 basis points to 95.19 cents U.S..
In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average added 73 points or 0.72 per cent, to 10,270.47. The S&P 500 added 6.24 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 1,093.48, and the Nasdaq composite index closed at 2,167.88, up 18.86 points, or 0.88 per cent. All three U.S. indexes were up more than two per cent this past week.
Walt Disney Co. jumped 4.8 per cent to $30.44 U.S. after the the world's largest media company said profits jumped 18 per cent. Abercrombie & Fitch also gained, adding 10.6 per cent to $40.68 U.S. after earnings beat analyst expectations.
