In cricket terms, Canada stocks hit a six Friday, and are now looking for more boundaries. Today, the overall index gained 39 points or 0.26% to reach near 14,838 and make it six successive days of gains, moving closer to the May 2008 peak at 15,155.Most sectors were higher led by Industrials, but Metals and Mining capped gains.
Friday's gains came despite Canada's jobless rate rising in May, the first increase this year. Unemployment rose to 7% from 6.9% as full-time employment dropped by 29,100, but part-time jobs rose by 54,900.
Of commodities, gold closed slightly lower as the greenback got a lift from better than expected U.S. jobs numbers.
Bloomberg reported that palladium futures rose to a 34-month high and platinum headed for the longest rally in three weeks after mining companies and striking workers failed to reach a pay accord in South Africa, a top producer of the metals. Meanwhile, Bloomberg also reported that copper in New York fell, capping the biggest weekly loss since March, amid concern that a warehousing probe in China will curtail use of the metal in finance deals.
Air Canada (AC-B.TO) - which this week reported a record May load factor - flew to 6.5 year highs after being upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform by National Bank Financial. The broker also revised its price objective on the carrier to $12 from $8.50. Meanwhile, RBC Capital Markets lifted its target price by nearly 42% to $17, and forecast the airline's stock could reach $30 on a strengthening economy. More than 4.1 million shares changed hands, double the 30 day average.
National Bank also upgraded WestJet Airlines (WJA.TO) - which gained more than 2% - to Outperform from Sector Perform. The target price was raised to $29, up from $27.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
