Stocks Climb by Noon

Equities in Canada’s biggest market rose on Friday, buoyed by commodity-linked shares as crude and metal prices gained on hopes of a demand recovery in China following an easing of its stringent COVID-19 restrictions.

The TSX Composite leaped 96.93 points noon hour EST to 20,066.12.

The Canadian dollar dipped 0.12 cents at 73.4 cents U.S.

Technology stocks also contributed to the benchmark index's gains on Friday, with Shopify advancing $1.34, or 2.6%, to $53.83, after Wells Fargo raised its price target.

Among single stocks, Laurentian Bank of Canada climbed $2.05, or 6.5%, to $33.51, to top the TSX after the lender beat its fourth-quarter profit estimate.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange stayed buoyant 0.91 points to 582.65.

All but three of the 12 subgroups were higher, as gold and materials climbed 1.8% each, while information technology picked up 1.7%.

The three laggards consisted of consumer discretionary, trailing 0.5%, while energy and industrials each slid 0.1%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks wavered between gains and losses Friday, but headed for a down week as worries over continued rate hikes persisted.

The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 62.61 points to 33,844.09,

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The S&P 500 regained 13.36 points to 3,976.87

The NASDAQ hiked 56.53 points to 11,138.54.

The Dow is off by 1.8% this week, while the S&P 500 has fallen 2.5%. The NASDAQ has lost 2.9%.

Shares of Lululemon fell after the company gave a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter outlook. Bath & Body Works’ stock gained as Dan Loeb revealed a boost in his stake.

Friday’s moves came as November’s producer price index showed higher-than-expected wholesale prices, which rose 0.3% last month and 7.4% over the previous year. That topped the 0.2% gain expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.4%, beating an estimate of 0.2%. Optimistic consumer sentiment data helped to alleviate some fears.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell, raising yields to 3.55% from Thursday’s 3.49%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices moved up 98 cents to $72.44 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices progressed $15.80 to $1,817.30 U.S. an ounce.