Canada’s main stock index rebounded on Friday after an early sharp decline, lifted by gains in the mining sector. Investor sentiment improved on indications that the Middle East ceasefire was holding, along with confidence in the strength of the US economy following better-than-expected jobs data. The TSX finished the week in a better position than where it was on Monday.
In Canada, the latest labour report showed minimal change in employment for April, with a slight decrease of 18,000 jobs (-0.1 per cent). Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 6.9 per cent, reflecting an increase in the number of people actively seeking work.
Meanwhile, officials and sources indicated that the United States and Iran are moving closer to a limited, temporary agreement to pause hostilities. The proposed arrangement would focus on a short-term memorandum rather than a broad, long-term peace settlement.
All three major US market benchmarks also ended the week on a positive note, supported by a continued stream of strong corporate earnings.
| TSX | 34,077.76 | +221.14 |  |
| TSXV | 997.29 | +3.01 | |
| CSE | 180.40 | -0.24 |  |
| DJIA | 49,609.16 | +12.19 | |
| NASDAQ | 26,247.08 | +440.88 | |
| S&P 500 | 7,398.93 | +61.82 | |
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.10 cents US compared to 73.33 cents US on Thursday.
US crude futures traded $0.21 lower at US$94.60 a barrel, abut the Brent contract rose $0.28 to US$100.30 a barrel.
The price of gold was up US$15.69 to US$4,714.94.
In world markets, the Nikkei was down 120.19 points to ¥62,713.65, the Hang Seng was down 232.57 points to HK$26,393.71, the FTSE was down 43.88 points to ₤10,233.07, and the DAX was down 324.98 points to €24,338.63.
