Markets rise to end a flat week as Trudeau announces rent relief

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Toronto and New York indices drifted higher Friday afternoon to close the week a shade lower than the previous week. The past five days were dominated by oil, which plunged to historic lows at the start, before rebounding to some degree. On Friday, the Nasdaq gained 1.65%, the S&P 1.39% and the TSX 1.11%. WTI and WCS prices inched up as gold slipped, but just slightly.

Tech and materials led Toronto. Gold names rallied, like B2Gold up 4.52% in heavy trading as did mega-cap Shopify which climbed 4.28% past $900. Energy stocks had a mixed Friday with names like Birchcliffe shedding over 12%. Concerns linger over the oil glut and, specifically, where to store all of it. Prime Minister Trudeau, however, did offer good news by announcing that he would lower the rent by 75% for small Canadian businesses.

The Dow closed the week just below 20% from its all-time high. It was driven Friday by tech and consumers stocks, most notably Home Depot, which closed nearly 5% higher, and Apple, climbing 2.89%. Biotech stocks continued to rise as investors bet on a treatment and virus to defeat COVID-19. Even Gilead, which released disappointing data yesterday about a drug treatment, regained 2.39%.

🥇 B2Gold Corp. +4.52%
🛍 Shopify Inc. +4.28%
🛢 Birchcliff Energy Ltd. -12%
🛠 Home Depot +5%
🍎 Apple +2.89%
💉 Gilead Sciences Inc. +2.39%