Canada’s main stock index saw a relatively quiet trading day Friday, as investors held off on major moves in anticipation of next week’s annual meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 21.89 points at 23,054.61.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 96.70 points at 40,659.76. The S&P 500 index was up 11.03 points at 5,554.25, while the Nasdaq composite was up 37.22 points at 17,631.72.
The comparative market calm came at the end of a week in which stocks have enjoyed a broad-based rally. The momentum of the past few days reversed most of the losses suffered in the massive sell-off that took place earlier this month.
On Friday, investors appeared to be in wait-and-see mode in light of a couple of mixed reports on the U.S. economy. One report showed homebuilders broke ground on fewer projects last month than forecast, which suggests the U.S. economy is cooling.
A report later in the day suggested U.S. consumers are feeling better about the economy than expected. It came on the heels of better-than-expected reports earlier in the week on everything from inflation to U.S. retail sales.
Investors continue to parse economic data for any indication on what the U.S. Federal Reserve may be thinking heading into its September meeting. They hope that an expected cut to interest rates by the U.S. central bank will help prevent the economy from entering into a significant slowdown — something that would be bad news for equities.
With no significant U.S. economic data releases on the calendar for next week, said Gobal Asset Management portfolio manager Rose Devli, all eyes are instead on the annual economic symposium in Wyoming and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s expected speech there.
“Everyone’s going to be looking at Jackson Hole for Friday, when Powell speaks about the economy and next steps,” Devli said.
“Everyone is expecting a dovish Powell ... if he’s hawkish, obviously, the market’s not going to like that.”
In Canada, mining stocks made gains Friday, buoyed by higher gold prices, while energy stocks drooped as the price of oil fell.
The S&P/TSX capped energy index fell 0.88 per cent in the day’s trading, while the capped materials index rose 1.49 per cent.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.51 at US$76.65 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was down seven cents at US$2.12 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$45.40 at US$2,537.80 an ounce and the September copper contract was down one cent at US$4.14 a pound.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.96 cents US compared with 72.91 cents US on Thursday.
Canada’s next inflation reading is due on Tuesday, when Statistics Canada will release data for July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug.16, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
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