TORONTO — The consumer discretionary sector responded positively to retail sales numbers and prompted Canada’s main stock index to inch higher to conclude a relatively flat week.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 17.53 points to 18,854.00.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 234.33 points at 32,627.97. The S&P 500 index was down 2.36 points at 3,913.10, while the Nasdaq composite was up 99.07 points at 13,215.24.
The Canadian dollar traded for 79.96 cents US compared with 80.27 cents US on Thursday.
The May crude oil contract was up US$1.38 at US$61.44 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was up 5.4 cents at nearly US$2.54 per mmBTU.
The April gold contract was up US$9.20 at US$1,741.70 an ounce and the May copper contract was up half a cent at US$4.11 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2021.
