Positive Friday ends choppy week and down month

Markets wavered up and down Friday to finish positive, but capped a turbulent week. First, the TSX gained 1% for the session as well as the week, though barely broke even for February. Eight sectors were up, led by rallies in industrials, financials and staples. Healthcare was the weakest area. Major movers: Pembina 7.1%, Interfor 5.48%, GFL 5.08%, Veren 4.36%, and CGI -5.85%. Though Trump’s tariffs against Canada and Mexico will start March 4, sentiment was eased by GDP in Q4 coming in at 3.6% well above the expected 1.7%. Meanwhile, gold gave back US$20 to US$2,857 while WTI slipped 30 cents to US$70.05.

Wall Street managed to close higher: S&P 1.59%, Nasdaq 1.63% and the Dow 1.39%. It was a choppy session, marked by a dip when Trump shamefully picked a fight with the Ukrainian President on TV at midday. Only the Dow gained over the week, by 1%, while the S&P sank that much and the Nasdaq tumbled 3.5%. All averages lost ground in February, mostly by 1.5%, but the Nasdaq slid 4%. The most influential name, of course, was Nvidia, which rebounded nearly 4%. Also notable: AES 11.66%, Walgreens -4.9%, HP -6.82% and Bank of American 4.49%. Bitcoin held steady at US$84,230 after a rough week, while the U.S. 10-year yield edged down to 4.2%.

🛢 Pembina Pipeline Corp (PPL-T) +7.1%

🌲 Interfor Corp (IFP-T) +5.48%

♻ GFL Environmental Inc. (GFL-T) +5.08%

🛢 Veren (VRN-T) +4.36%

💾 CGI Group (A) (GIB.A-T) -5.85%

💾 NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA-Q) +4%

💡 AES (AES-N) +11.66%

💊 Walgreen Boots Alliance (WBA-Q) -4.9%

💻 Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ-N) -6.82%

🏛 Bank of America (BAC-N) +4.49%