TSX Subject to Small Losses
Canada's main stock index opened muted on Friday, boosted by energy shares, as investors assessed domestic trade updates.
The TSX Composite Index eased 15.83 points to open Friday at 27,371.10.
The Canadian dollar eked higher 0.02 cents at 72.96 cents U.S.
International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu pointed to interest in advancing trade talks with the South American bloc Mercosur, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, as Ottawa seeks to diversify its trade relations beyond the U.S.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and his team are in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump to reach a trade agreement before the August 1 deadline, when 35% tariffs are set to take effect.
In other trade-related news, Canada and New Zealand reached a "mutually satisfactory" resolution to a long-term dispute over dairy product access, which will allow for better access to the Canadian market, Ottawa said on Thursday.
Trump has previously criticized high Canadian tariffs on dairy products.
Earlier this week, Carney introduced a steel tariff rate quota in a bid to protect the domestic steel industry. China's Commerce Ministry urged Ottawa on Friday to drop the restrictions while threatening countermeasures.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.52 points to 796.18.
Nine of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, with industrials descending 0.7%, while health-care and telecoms slid 0.5% each.
The three gainers were co-led by utilities and energy, each up 0.6%, and consumer staples, better 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 scaled to a fresh record high on Friday, adding to its weekly gains, thanks to gains in tech.
The Dow Jones Industrials gave back 142.27 points to start the week’s final session at 44,340.21
The much-broader index eked higher 3.38 points to 6,300.74
The NASDAQ Composite acquired 11.75 points to 20,897.40.
For the week, the S&P 500 is up 0.8%, while the NASDAQ and Dow have advanced 1.8% and 0.2%, respectively. Investors this week have been poring through the latest corporate earnings reports.
About 60 S&P 500 companies have posted second-quarter results thus far. Of those, 86% have beaten analyst expectations.
On Thursday, PepsiCo and United Airlines shares both popped after the respective companies beat analyst estimates on earnings. Those follow solid results from big banks like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs earlier in the week.
Netflix on Thursday reported better-than-expected earnings on Thursday, but shares slid 4%. Shares of 3M were also down slightly despite the company posting an earnings beat.
Data pointing to a strong U.S. economy also lifted the major stock benchmarks this week.
Prices for the 10-year treasury lost ground, pushing yields up to 4.43% from Thursday’s 4.46%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added 75 cents to $68.29 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices advanced $18.10 to $3,363.40 U.S. an ounce.
