April 10 - Canada's main stock index rose on Friday as investors weighed U.S. inflation data and Canada's jobs report, while oil prices rose ahead of U.S.-Iran peace talks.
At 10:10 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index (.GSPTSE), was up 0.64% at 33,692.4 points, and looked set for a second straight week of gains.
A Labor Department report showed the U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 3.3% in March, in line with estimates of economists polled by Reuters. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy components, came in slightly softer at 2.6%, versus an expected 2.7% rise.
Meanwhile, job growth in Canada remained subdued in March while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7% from the prior month, data showed on Friday, signaling slack or underutilized workforce.
Oil prices were poised for their steepest weekly decline since last June ahead of the peace talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad on Saturday. Still, crude prices rose on Friday as uncertainty persists over the Strait of Hormuz reopening.
"That's putting a lot of investors on edge, they want lasting relief. If there is a more lasting agreement over the weekend, it would yield a positive result for the equities," said Shiraz Ahmed, founder at Sartorial Wealth.
All 10 major TSX sectors rose. The energy index (.SPTTEN), was up more than 1%, though headed for its second consecutive week of losses.
Tech stocks (.SPTTTK), led gains with a 1.8% rise.
The gold index (.SPTTGD), and the materials sector (.GSPTTMT), which includes metal miners, gained 1.5% each, tracking gains in precious metal prices. Both subindexes were poised for their third consecutive week of gains.
Financials (.SPTTFS), which weigh heaviest on the index, gained 0.5%.
Among individual movers, telecommunications firm Cogeco Communications (CCA.TO), slipped 6.9% after missing quarterly revenue estimates on weaker U.S. subscriptions.
Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi; Editing by Jonathan Ananda and Sahal Muhammed
