Canadian Stocks Close Higher For Fourth Straight Day

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks moved modestly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday, extending the upward trend seen over the past few sessions.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 103.68 points or 0.4 percent to 25,357.74, closing higher for the fourth straight day and reaching its best closing level in well over two months.

The continued strength on Bay Street came amid optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal ahead of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's talks with Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend.

A Bloomberg report citing people familiar said the U.S. is hoping to slash its China tariffs to below 60 percent from the current level of at least 145 percent during the weekend talks.

However, President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that a higher "80% Tariff on China seems right," partly offsetting the positive sentiment.

Trump also said many trade deals are "in the hopper," although traders remain cautious even after yesterday's announcement of the framework of a U.S.-U.K. trade deal.

Gold stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, resulting in a 3.3 percent spike by the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index.

An extended surge by the price of crude oil also contributed to significant strength among energy stocks, as reflected by the 2.0 percent jump by the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index.

Telecom stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while technology stocks showed a notable move to the downside.

In economic news, Statistics Canada released a report showing employment crept up by 7,400 jobs in April after falling by 33,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment rose to 6.9 percent in April from 6.7 percent in March.