Canada's equity market closed higher on Friday, with sector strength in Materials, Healthcare and Industrials pushing the S&P/TSX Composite into positive territory.
At the Toronto close the S&P/TSX Composite was up 0.88%.
The session's strongest performers included Southern Cross Gold Consolidated Ltd (TSX:SXGC), which advanced 9.56% or 0.86 points to finish at 9.86. Discovery Silver Corp (TSX:DSV) rose 9.09% or 0.83 points to close at 9.96, and Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX:WDO) gained 8.11% or 2.12 points to end the day at 28.26.
On the downside, Lightspeed Commerce Inc (TSX:LSPD) slipped 1.89% or 0.29 points to close at 15.02. Empire Company Ltd (TSX:EMPa) declined 1.40% or 0.69 points to finish at 48.65, and Thomson Reuters Corp (TSX:TRI) was down 1.37% or 1.74 points to 124.88 at the close.
Advancers outpaced decliners on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with 692 stocks rising versus 217 falling; 95 issues were unchanged.
The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, a gauge of implied volatility for S&P/TSX Composite options, decreased 5.08% to 14.20.
Commodities showed varied direction during the session. Gold Futures for August delivery were reported up 1.48% or 61.21 to $4,186.91 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for August delivery inched higher by 0.13% or 0.09 to $68.78 a barrel, while the September Brent contract rose 0.19% or 0.14 to trade at $71.94 a barrel.
In currency markets the Canadian dollar was effectively unchanged versus major peers at the close: CAD/USD was unchanged 0.16% to 0.70, and CAD/EUR was unchanged 0.17% to 0.62. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.02% at 100.61.
Market breadth, volatility metrics and commodities prices provided multiple data points for investors scanning sector exposure and risk. The session's leadership among materials and precious metals names was reflected in the top-performing individual stocks, while select retail and media names were among the laggards at the close.
Because the report summarizes a single trading session, it reflects the prevailing prices and measures at the close and does not attempt to explain drivers beyond the stated figures.