Canada’s main stock index grew on Friday, despite a broader decline in technology stocks on Wall Street. That downturn came despite strong signals of AI-related demand from Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), as falling oil prices added additional downward pressure.
Meanwhile, Canada and Japan are collaborating on several mining initiatives, including the possibility of joint stockpiling. Federal Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told Reuters that the effort aligns with Japan’s push to diversify critical mineral supplies and reduce its reliance on China.
US markets eroded further as a selloff in technology stocks intensified, driven by growing concerns over the rising costs of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Shares of Micron and Qualcomm both dropped more than 6 per cent by close, trimming gains made in the previous session following its strong earnings report, while other semiconductor companies also struggled. Investor caution around increasing AI infrastructure expenses continues to ripple through global markets.
| TSX | 34,980.00 | +129.79 |  |
| TSXV | 895.84 | +0.46 | |
| CSE | 160.57 | +1.34 | |
| DJIA | 51,876.11 | -44.51 |  |
| NASDAQ | 25,297.62 | -60.99 | |
| S&P 500 | 7,354.02 | -3.47 | |
The Canadian dollar traded for 70.50 cents US compared to 70.42 cents US on Thursday.
US crude futures traded US$2.54 lower at US$69.38 a barrel, and the Brent contract lost US$3.21 to US$72.05 a barrel.
The price of gold was up US$35.28 to US$4,067.75.
In world markets, the Nikkei was down 3,005.46 points to ¥69,360.88, the Hang Seng was down 405.05 points to HK$22,671.86, the FTSE was down 14.69 points to ₤10,515.20, and the DAX was down 323.61 points to €24,671.22.