The Canadian market climbed to a fresh record high Friday morning, led by gains in technology, consumer discretionary, materials, financials and energy sectors.
Data showing a strong reading of Canadas Ivey Purchasing Managers Index for the month of September and upbeat U.S. jobs data are aiding sentiment.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which rose to 24,165.17 earlier in the session, is up 175.07 or 0.73% at 24,143.57 nearly half an hour past noon.
SilverCrest Metals Inc. (SIL.TO) shares are up nearly 12%. Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE: CDE) and SilverCrest Metals Inc., entered Friday into a definitive agreement whereby a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coeur will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of SilverCrest pursuant to a court-approved plan of arrangement.
Propel Holdings (PRL.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), MTY Food Group (MTY.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Cameco Corporation (CCO.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO) and Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO) are up 2 to 4.7%.
Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) are up 1 to 1.8%.
Badger Infrastructure Solutions (BDGI.TO) and Morguard Corporation (MRC.TO) are down 2.9% and 2.7%, respectively. Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Loblaw Companies (L.TO), Metro Inc (MRU.TO) and George Weston (WN.TO) are also notably lower.
The Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada soared to 53.1 in September 2024, up from an over 3-1/2-year low of 48.2 in August and well above market estimates of 50.2. The latest reading showed a renewed expansion in Canadian economic activity at a solid pace, as the price index eased to its lowest level in six months (58.2 vs 63.4 in August).
Data from the U.S. Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 254,000 jobs in September after climbing by an upwardly revised 159,000 jobs in August.
Economists had expected employment to rise by 140,000 jobs compared to the addition of 142,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The report also showed the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% in September from 4.2% in August. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.