U.S. hits record highs before holiday
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Positive, but not too strong, June employment numbers inspired Wall Street to push all three major indices to break record closing highs on Friday. The S&P rallied 0.75% to make its seventh-straight record close, the Nasdaq jumped 0.81% as major tech names soared, and the Dow advanced 0.51% to close at 34,811. Employment numbers hit the sweet spot by beating the street, but were not so high that they triggered investor fears that the U.S. Fed will raise interest rates.
Major gainers: Apple 1.96%, Hilton 2.58%, Microsoft 2.23%, Alphabet 2.3% and Xilinx 1.94%. Notable losers included IBM which plunged 4.64% due to a management shake-up. The U.S. 10-year fell 2.33% to 1.4238%. Americans enter the Fourth of July weekend on a high.
The TSX nearly made it a grand slam as it closed 0.3% higher, but just a hair short of its all-time high after after taking Canada Day off. Consumer staples and real estate led. Notable movers were grocer Empire, up 2.83%, Innergex Renewable by 5% as the green power stocks enjoyed a strong session, Americas Gold and Silver by 3.23% and Lightspeed up 3.12%. In contrast, the cannabis names withered, including Aurora which slid 5.52% and Organigram down 5.35%. Beyond weed, Pollard banknote slipped 4%. The oil action was mixed as WTI remained flat at $75.22 per barrel though WCS raose 0.87%. The Canadian dollar has been declining of late, but climbed nearly 1% Friday to top 81 cents. Gold inched up 0.66%, but stayed below $1,800 per ounce.
🍎 Apple +1.96%
🏢 Hilton Worldwide Holdings +2.58%
Ⓜ Microsoft +2.23%
🧮 Alphabet Inc. / Google +2.3%
🧬 Xilinx Inc +1.94%
💾 IBM -4.64%
🛒 Empire Company (A) +2.83%
♻ Innergex Renewable Energy +5%
🥈 Americas Silver Corp +3.23%
💾 Lightspeed POS +3.12%
🌿 Aurora Cannabis -5.52%
🌿 OrganiGram Holdings Inc. -5.35%
🏛 Pollard Banknote Ltd -4%
