U.S. and Canadian stocks are notched additional record highs on Friday and coasting toward the close of another winning week, as investors turned attention to key events next week, including a possible U.S. trade deal with the the European Union and a Bank of Canada policy decision.
Wall Street has surged to record highs in recent weeks, thanks to upbeat quarterly earnings, trade deals with Japan and the Philippines, and expectations that the White House will cement more agreements to avoid elevated tariffs threatened by Trump.
“The market has been anticipating that the deals are going to get done,” said Thomas Martin, Senior Portfolio Manager at GLOBALT in Atlanta. “Personally, I have a bit more skepticism. You’ve got to be careful, because if they don’t get done, there is more room for disappointment than there is upside.”
The S&P 500 climbed 0.40 per cent to end the session at 6,388.64 points.
The Nasdaq gained 0.24 per cent to 21,108.32 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.47 per cent to 44,901.92 points.
The S&P 500 set a closing record every day this week. The last time the index had a “perfect week” of closing highs, Monday through Friday, was in November 2021, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Investors next week will focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve, with policymakers on Thursday expected to hold interest rates steady as the central bank weighs the impact of tariffs on inflation.
Traders see about a 60 per cent chance of a rate cut in September, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Trump said on Friday he believed that Fed Chair Jerome Powell might be ready to lower rates. Trump made a rare visit to the Fed on Thursday after calling Powell a “numbskull” earlier in the week for failing to slash rates.
Companies reporting next week include Microsoft , Apple, Amazon and Meta Platforms.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 122.09 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 27,494.35, eclipsing Wednesday’s record closing high. For the week, the index was up 0.7 per cent.
The move has been supported by trade optimism “as negotiations have progressed on the U.S. side and also corporate profits that are coming in pretty strong,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior global investment strategist at Edward Jones.
The Bank of Canada will also release a policy decision on Wednesday, while an August 1 deadline looms for Canada to reach a trade deal with the United States.
“That summer calm may be tested,” Kourkafas said. “We are seeing some signs of complacency, which raise the risk of near-term volatility, but fundamentals remain supportive.” The Canadian central bank will hold its overnight interest rate steady at 2.75 per cent for the third consecutive meeting, thanks to a recent rise in inflation and a fall in unemployment, according to a Reuters poll of economists that still found many expect at least two more cuts this year.
The technology sector rose 1.8 per cent, boosted by a 4.7 per cent gain for the shares of Lightspeed Commerce, which is due to release earnings next Thursday. Shares of e-commerce company Shopify added 2.5 per cent.
Industrials were up 0.7 per cent as railroad shares notched gains and heavily weighted financials ended 0.5 per cent higher.
Energy was a drag, dipping 0.5 per cent, as the price of oil settled 1.3 per cent lower at $65.16 a barrel.
- Reuters, Globe staff