TSX Shoots Higher on Tech Issues

Equities in Toronto had reason to cheer as the week came to an end, as advances in tech and gold companies powered the latest surge.

The TSX Composite Index hiked 122.09 points to close the week at 27,494.35. That reading put the index ahead on the week by 180 points, or 0.7%.

The Canadian dollar dipped 0.37 cents at 72.94 cents U.S.

Trump said on Friday that the United States may not reach a trade agreement with Canada, hinting his administration could set a tariff rate unilaterally.

Sentiment this week was buoyed by U.S. trade agreements with Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, while negotiations continue with the European Union and South Korea, raising hopes for additional deals.

Investors also assessed the strength of Canadian corporate earnings in the second quarter.

Tech shares were boosted by a gain of $8.91, or 4%, in Celestica to $232.72, after Cormark Securities raised its target price for the electronics firm.

However, blockchain farm operator Bitfarms barely moved from Thursday’s close of $1.69, as bitcoin prices fell nearly 3%.

Elsewhere among tech firms, Lightspeed Commerce gained 86 cents, or 4.8%, to $18.77.

In the gold sector, Kinross Gold sprang up $2.17 to $22.08, while rival Barrick Gold collected 46 cents, or 1.6%, to $29.54.

In real-estate, FirstService leaped $9.60, or 3.6%, to $274.26, while Altus Group picked up 91 cents, or 1.6%, to $56.33.

Health-care stocks were feeling for the bruises by the close, with Chartwell Retirement Residences shedding 23 cents, or 1.3%, to $17.41, while Sienna Senior Living dipped 15 cents to $18.04.

Energy also faltered, with Parex Resources stumbling 40 cents, or 2.6%, to $14.89, while Headwater Exploration falling 16 cents, or 2.2%, to $7.24.

In telecoms, BCE slid 18 cents to $33.16, while Rogers lost two cents to $47.04.

Attention is shifting to key events next week, including policy decisions from the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve, as well as earnings reports from several “Magnificent Seven” tech companies.

A Reuters poll of economists expects the Bank of Canada to hold its overnight interest rate steady at 2.75% on July 30 for the third consecutive meeting.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange shed 1.8 points to close Friday afternoon at 801.13. The index was still positive for the week by 3.6 points, or 0.45%.

All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher Friday, with information technology gaining 2%, gold 1.8%, and real-estate adding 0.7%.

The three laggards were health-care, down 0.6%, energy ailing 0.3%, and telecoms off 0.1%.

ON WALLSTREET

The S&P 500 rose on Friday as it closed out a winning week following solid earnings results and the latest trade developments.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ballooned 208.01 points to 44,901.92.

The much broader index triumphed 25.3 points to 6,388.64.

The NASDAQ gained 50.36 points to 21,108.32.

All three major averages finished the week with gains. The 30-stock Dow was tracking for nearly a 1% advance on the week, as is the tech-heavy NASDAQ, while the S&P 500 rose about 1.2% week to date.

The journey to all-time highs over this past week has been supported by a strong earnings season so far, including Alphabet’s better-than-expected earnings report. Verizon shares also jumped after the telecommunications company’s results surpassed expectations. Week to date, Alphabet is up 4% and Verizon is up 5%.

More than 82% of the 169 S&P 500 companies that have reported to date have beaten Wall Street’s expectations, per FactSet data.

Recent deals between the U.S. and its trading partners have also helped push the market to new heights. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced a “massive” trade agreement with Japan, which includes 15% “reciprocal” tariffs. The president also said this week that the U.S. and Indonesia have settled on the framework of a trade agreement.

Trump said Friday that he expects more deals to be done before next week’s Aug. 1 tariff deadline.

Next week is also when the Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet once again. Policymakers are widely expected to keep interest rates at their current target range of 4.25% to 4.5%.

Prices for the 10-year treasury gained strength, lowering yields to 4.38% Thursday’s 4.40%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices weakened 93 cents to $65.10 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices stumbled $34.70 to $3,338.7.30 U.S. an ounce.