The S&P/TSX composite rose 183.82 points on Friday, while major U.S. indexes finished mixed as investors assessed the impact of recent U.S. midterm elections.
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Canada’s main stock index closed higher on Friday after a week marked by volatile trading as investors assessed the effects of recent U.S. midterm elections.
The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 183.82 points at 35,789.09.
In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 237.33 points to 51,285.73, while the S&P 500 gained 23.13 points to 7,376.86 and the Nasdaq composite rose 264.43 points to 24,579.42.
Sadiq Adatia, chief investment officer of BMO Global Asset Management, said markets were initially encouraged once the election results were in, but then investors began weighing what the outcome could mean for the economy and sectors including technology and oil.
Adatia said an AI sell-off hit the market on Thursday, led by companies tied to building out AI data centres, though stocks rebounded on Friday.
He said the pullback two days after the midterms was followed by “a little bit of a bounce back today,” adding it was “not … a convincing bounce back by any means.”
Canadian investors were also digesting the 2026 budget tabled Thursday, which Adatia said focused on business growth with tax measures and incentives aimed at encouraging private-sector investment.
The central pitch of the budget, as described by Adatia, was to invest more, expand and become more competitive internationally.
In currency and commodities trading, the Canadian dollar was at 70.86 cents US, down from 71.48 cents US on Thursday.
The December crude oil contract rose 31 cents US to US$90.83 per barrel, and the December gold contract fell by US$38.60 to US$4,074.90 an ounce.
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