TSX Climbs After Solid GDP Report -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks rose Friday, ending the quarter on a high note despite expectations the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates in July.

That's after a decent GDP report that confirmed continued growth in the Canadian economy.

Canada's gross domestic product edged up 0.1% in April as 12 of 20 industrial sectors increased. After a decline in January, gross domestic product has risen every month since the beginning of 2018, according to Stats Canada.

Stocks performed well in the U.S. and Canada today. The TSX Composite Index was up 93.98 points to 16,273.

The surge in crude oil prices continued Friday, marking a 20% year-to-date increase in crude oil prices.

WTI light sweet oil climbed 70 cents, or nearly 1%, to settle at $74.15/bbl.

"We are in a very attractive oil price environment and our house view is that oil will hit $90 by the end of the second quarter of next year," Hootan Yazhari, head of frontier markets equity research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said.

"We are moving into an environment where supply disruptions are visible all over the world… and of course President Trump has been pretty active in trying to isolate Iran and getting U.S. allies not to purchase oil from Iran," he added.

Molson Coors has been engaged in discussions with several Canadian-based cannabis companies, according to BNN/Bloomberg.

Enbridge jumped 7 percent. Minnesota has approved the Enbridge (ENB.TO) line 3 replacement but the route is still to be determined.