TSX Ends Marginally Up

(RTTNews) - After a negative start and a subsequent weak spell that lasted till about an hour past noon, the Canadian stock market moved in a tight range along the flat line on Friday, and finally ended slightly up.

News about U.S. President Donald Trump testing positive for Covid-19, falling crude oil prices and largely disappointing U.S. economic data weighed on sentiment. However, stocks managed to find support at lower levels to pare most of their losses.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped to 16,005.70 in early trades, ended the day with a gain of 14.71 points or 0.09% at 16,199.25, slightly off the day's high of 16,213.89. Recording gains in three of the five sessions, the index gained 0.83% in the week.

Energy stocks, which started off on a weak note, eventually turned out to be the star performers in the session, as they gained in strength during the later part of the day. The Capped Energy Index advanced 1.05%.

Financial and telecom stocks were the other prominent gainers. Select shares from utilities and consumer discretionary sections moved up as well, while information technology, healthcare and materials shares slipped.

Husky Energy (HSE.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) moved up 3.1% and 2.9%, respectively. Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and TC Energy (TRP.TO) gained 1 to 2.2%.

West Fraser Timber (WFT.TO), Magna International (MG.TO), Nutrien (NTR.TO) and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) were among the other notable gainers in the session.

Docebo Inc. (DCBO.TO), Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO), Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM.TO), Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) and Cineplex (CGX.TO) ended sharply lower.

U.S. stocks ended weak despite seeing a rebound midway through the session. The Dow, which even managed to turn positive around mid-afternoon, ended the day with a loss of 0.5%. The Nasdaq plunged 2.2% and the S&P 500 slumped 1%.

News about President and his wife testing positive for Covid-19, data showing U.S. jobs growth slowed by much more than anticipated in September, and the continued impasse over coronavirus relief package weighed on the market.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower. The major European markets recovered after early weakness. While the German market ended lower, the U.K. closed modestly higher and France edged up slightly.