A morning rally on better-than-expected jobs data pushed U.S. indexes up Friday, but markets retreated in afternoon trading.
Here at home, commodities were the big gainer, pushing the S&P/TSX composite index to close up 214.47 points, or 1.52%, at 14,280.28. All 10 of the major TSX groups gained today.
The materials group rose 2.21%.
Shares in Agrium Inc. closed up $4.40, or 5.53%, at $84, after it announced Q1 profit rose to US$195 million after an $11 million loss a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the gold sub-index gained 1.47%, as gold for June delivery closed up US$7.10, at $858 an ounce on the Nymex. The contract fell US$31.70, or 3.6%, for the week.
Goldcorp Inc. shares gained 87¢, or 2.42%, to close at $36.81. As well, HIghriver Gold Mines Ltd. shares went up 11¢, or 5.88%, to end at $1.98.
The heavyweight energy group gained 2.09%, as crude oil for June delivery closed at US$116.32 a barrel, up US$3.80. Crude futures lost 1.9% for the week.
Shares in Encana Corp. gained $1.38, or 1.75%, to close at $80.43. Meanwhile, Opti Canada Inc. shares gained 42¢, or 1.93%, to close at $22.13.
The financials group closed up 0.93%. Royal Bank of Canada shares ended up 88¢, or 1.79%, at $50.08 and Bank of Montreal shares gained $1.33, or 2.62%, to close at $52.05.
In Canadian earnings news, Nortel Networks Corp. shares lost 20¢, or 2.25%, to close at $8.67, after it announced a quarterly loss of US$138 million, US$103 million more than one year earlier but still beating analysts expectations.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed up 31.60 points, or 1.28%, at 2495.51.
The Canadian dollar closed at US98.11¢, unchanged from yesterday’s close.
In New York, markets pared some of the day’s earlier gains in the afternoon, but still closed higher.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 48.20 points, or 0.37%, at 13,058.20. For the week, the Dow rose 1.29%.
The S&P 500 gained 4.56 points, or 0.32%, to close at 1,413.90. The S&P moved ahead 1.15% for the week.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed down 3.72 points, or 0.15%, at 2,476.99. The Nasdaq gained 2.23 overall for the week.