Canada’s commodity-heavy stock index notched a fresh intraday high before giving back gains on Friday, lifted by miners as gold advanced on a weaker dollar, while investors also assessed corporate earnings and stalled talks to end the Middle East conflict.
At 11 a.m. ET, the S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 88.77 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 36,670.52 after hitting an intraday record of 36,844.73 points earlier in the day. The benchmark is seeking for its sixth straight day of gains — its longest daily winning streak since April.
The materials index, which includes metal miners, was up 1.9 per cent, tracking gains in precious metals. Miners Seabridge Gold, Endeavour Silver and First Majestic Silver advanced more than 4 per cent each.
Heavyweight energy shares added 1.1 per cent as crude oil rose after the U.S. threatened an indefinite naval blockade of Iran, raising concerns about disruptions to global oil supplies.
Bird Construction’s shares jumped 6.3 per cent after the company beat second-quarter profit estimates, prompting at least three brokerages to raise their price targets on the stock.
“Investors have been focusing on earnings growth, and we’ve had pretty robust earnings growth,” said Michael Dehal, a senior portfolio manager at Dehal Investment Partners at Raymond James.
Technology shares, which have gained more than 11 per cent quarter-to-date, shed 1.9 per cent.
Of the 10 major sectors on the TSX, only energy and materials were in the green.
In company news, Air Canada’s revenue for September and October is likely to break records for the two months, a senior executive said on Friday. Its shares were little changed.
Domestic wholesale trade grew by 2.8 per cent in June from May driven by higher sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies sub-sector, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
Separately, a Canadian government source directly familiar with trade negotiations with the U.S. said on Thursday talks were progressing well and that Washington also wanted an agreement before a new U.S. tariff deadline on August 19.
Wall Street’s main indexes were largely muted in choppy trading on Friday, a day after the S&P 500 closed at a record high, while investors assessed retail sales data and took stock of the latest developments in the Middle East.
Gains in Meta Platforms and Alphabet lifted the S&P 500 communication services index 0.5 per cent, but mixed moves in chip stocks such as Broadcom and Nvidia left the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq swinging between gains and losses.
Applied Materials fell 4 per cent, even after the chip equipment maker forecast fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates.
Energy stocks on the S&P 500 rose 1.6 per cent, while miners and industrials gained about 0.5 per cent each.
“It’s good to see an expansion in the markets here with broadening out, not just hiding out in hyperscalers like Microsoft and Nvidia,” said Bob Lang, founder and chief strategist at Explosive Options.
Declines in Amgen and Johnson & Johnson weighed on the Dow.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21.14 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 53,818.85, the S&P 500 gained 8.66 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 7,807.65 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 17.78 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 26,822.61.
Investors also parsed a weaker-than-expected retail sales reading for July, after an unrevised 0.2 per cent gain in June, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said.
“If they (the Fed) raise rates at the next meeting, it’s not going to be a horrible thing ... If they do not change policy, it means that they have confidence that inflation trends are moving in the right direction,” said Lang.
The figures follow benign inflation data earlier this week that eased some concerns about a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike in September, putting the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on track for a third consecutive weekly gain, their longest winning streak since early April.
The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment survey came in at 51 in August, below expectations of 54.5, according to economists polled by Reuters.
Developments in the Middle East continued to weigh on investor sentiment after transit through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to have come to a near standstill after two more ships were attacked and the U.S. said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely.
Reddit surged nearly 15 per cent after the social media companywas named a new addition to the S&P 500 index, effective August 18.
Shares of some drone makers gained after President Donald Trump said late on Thursday that he would impose tariffs on imports of drones and their components.
Red Cat jumped 7 per cent and Unusual Machines added 14 per cent.
Reuters