TORONTO — Falling energy shares weren’t enough to drag Canada’s main stock market into the red, as BlackBerry Ltd. and Bombardier Inc. provided some of the lift.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 8.59 points to 15,618.25.
“Overall, it’s a flat day for the TSX,” said Michael Currie, vice-president of TD Wealth Private Investment Advice. “But I think we’re seeing a bit of a reversal and a little bit of profit taking in some places.”
The information technology subsector was a top performer, anchored by a nearly 13 per cent increase for BlackBerry stock (TSX:BB) after it reported record software and services revenue on Thursday. Shares were up $1.47 to $13.00 at the close of markets.
A bright spot for industrials was Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B). Its shared closed up 11 cents, or 5.24 per cent, to $2.21 — a reversal from the day before when they fell 7.49 per cent after investors weighed the prospect of a 220 per cent duty on U.S. sales of its flagship CSeries passenger jets and the European merger of its railway rivals Siemens and Alstom.
Meanwhile, oil and gas companies fell 0.84 per cent on the commodity-heavy TSX as oil prices tumbled.
The November crude contract gave back 58 cents to US$51.56 per barrel.
South of the border, it was a positive day on Wall Street despite meagre movements.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 40.49 points to 22,381.20 and the Nasdaq composite index inched up 0.19 of a point to 6,453.45.
The S&P 500 index added 3.02 points to 2,510.06, hitting a record high. September is historically the weakest month of the year for stocks, but the S&P 500 has risen 1.6 per cent this month.
In currency markets, the Canadian dollar was trading at an average price of 80.32 cents US, down 0.25 of a cent.
Elsewhere in commodities, the December gold contract was up 90 cents to US$1,288.70 an ounce.
The November natural gas contract gave back four cents at US$3.02 per mmBTU and the December copper contract added five cents to US$2.98 a pound.
