Canada’s resources-heavy stock index rose on Friday, led by a jump in energy stocks, while investors braced for interest rate decisions from major central banks next week.
At 10:06 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 40.85 points, or 0.2%, at 20,741.35, on track for its fourth straight weekly gain.
Energy stocks jumped 1.9% to lead gains among sectors as oil prices rose for a second session, buoyed by better-than-expected U.S. economic growth and hopes of a rapid recovery in Chinese demand.
Data showed U.S. consumer spending fell in December, while inflation continued to subside, which could give the Federal Reserve room to further slow the pace of its interest rate hikes next week.
“Inflation data in general has been slowing for a number of months, I believe that’s going to continue as we go forward,” said Mike Archibald, vice-president and portfolio manager at AGF Investments in Toronto.
“Tighter monetary policy is having the impact that central banks around the world are hoping for.”
Investors were weary heading into next week, with the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) announcing their monetary policy decisions as major world economies grapple with elevated inflation.
The Bank of Canada became the first major central bank to signal a pause in rates hikes going forward after it upped the overnight lending rate by an expected 25-basis-points on Wednesday.
Materials stocks were the top decliners, falling 0.3% as lower precious metal prices hurt miners.
Silver miners hit the bottom of the TSX, as silver prices fell more than 1%.
Among individual stocks, TransAlta Corp gained 1.3% after National Bank of Canada raised the electricity generator’s stock to “outperform” from “sector perform”.
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