Canadian stocks 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% to 11407.68 while the TSX venture exchange added 9.15 points or 0.68% to 1359.90. Both senior and junior exchange closed the week up 1.4%.
“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 yesterday 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 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% 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 5.0-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 ten subindexes closed in positive territory. The materials group was up 1.53%, energy stocks rose 0.41% and financials dipped 0.12%.
Mega Brands Inc. climbed 63% to a $1.39 after the toymaker posted a third-quarter profit of $1.22 a share, or 14¢ excluding items.
Power Corp. of Canada fell 2.5% 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 US59¢ to US$76.35 a barrel, while gold jumped US$10.10 to US$1,116.70.
The Canadian dollar added 50 basis points to US95.19¢.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average added 73 points or 0.72% to 10270.47. The S&P 500 added 6.24 points or .52% to 1093.48 and the Nasdaq composite index closed at 2167.88, up 18.86 points or 0.88%. All three major indexes were up more than 2% this past week.
Walt Disney Co. jumped 4.8% to US$30.44 after the the world’s largest media company, said profits jumped 18%. Abercrombie & Fitch also gained, adding 10.6% to US$40.68 after earnings beat analyst expectations.
