Canada’s main stock index took another step toward the record closing high it posted nearly three months ago as investors increased their focus on high-flying technology shares and awaited quarterly earnings from Canada’s major banks.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 61.87 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 34,471.36, marking the highest closing level since the index posted an all-time peak on March 2. It touched a record intraday high of 34,574.87 and was up 1.9 per cent for the week.
Wall Street’s main indexes also rose, with the blue-chip Dow hitting a record high for the first time since the Iran war began as investors tracked progress in talks to end the conflict.
“The market focus has shifted more toward what’s happening in the tech world,” said Allan Small, senior investment advisor of the Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth.
The technology sector rose 1.6 per cent, with shares of systems software company BlackBerry jumping 18.5 per cent.
Industrials were up 0.5 per cent and heavily weighted financials ended 0.3 per cent higher. Financials have advanced 12.1 per cent since the start of 2026.
“Long undervalued, the Canadian banks have come roaring back and face a test at the halfway point of the fiscal year,” said Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Scotiabank.
Canada’s major banks are due to begin reporting quarterly earnings on Wednesday.
Among the sectors that lost ground was materials , which includes metal mining shares. It fell 0.6 per cent as the price of gold declined.
Shares of CAE fell 13.6 per cent even after the flight simulator company reported quarterly revenue that beat analyst estimates.
Domestic data showed that retail sales grew by 0.9 per cent in March, beating expectations, primarily led by sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors.
U.S. stocks rose on Friday, with the Dow reaching a record closing high, as investors cheered signs of progress in talks to end the Middle East conflict and a strong corporate earnings season.
The S&P 500 notched its eighth consecutive weekly gain, its longest since a nine-week streak ended in December 2023.
Semiconductor stocks, which have driven recent Wall Street gains, were mostly higher. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose, lifted by a 12 per cent jump in Qualcomm, while Nvidia slipped 1.90 per cent.
The U.S. has made some progress toward a deal with Iran, though more work remains, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said differences between the two sides remained deep.
“Earnings season looked really good and the economic data, save a few outliers, looked pretty solid so fundamentally the picture looks really solid,” said James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at Ocean Park Asset Management in Santa Monica, California.
“The war has been one major speed bump along the road for at least the equity market but I think the headlines today looked encouraging and that was probably helping at the margin.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 294.04 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 50,579.70, a record closing high. The S&P 500 rose 27.75 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 7,473.47 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 50.87 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 26,343.97.
Nine out of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes gained, led by healthcare, utilities, industrials and technology stocks.
Communications and consumer staples lost ground.
Shares of U.S. computer makers surged following strong results from China’s Lenovo Group, which reported a better-than-expected 27 per cent jump in quarterly revenue. Dell Technologies hit a record high after rising 17 per cent while HP Inc gained 15 per cent.
Long-dated government bond yields were lower, having pulled back from recent highs. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 2.6 basis points to 4.558 per cent.
“The bond market seems to be cooling off and yields are coming down from where they were starting to peak earlier this week and I think that’s very encouraging too,” St. Aubin said.
Kevin Warsh was sworn in as chair of the Federal Reserve on Friday, taking the helm at a pivotal moment for the U.S. economy as higher gasoline prices tied to the Iran conflict fuel inflation and weigh on consumer sentiment.
Estée Lauder rose 12 per cent after the cosmetics maker and Spanish perfumery Puig ended talks for a potential merger.
Workday gained 5 per cent after the human resources software provider exceeded expectations for first-quarter revenue and profit.
Reuters