Canada’s main stock market index edged up on Friday as rising concerns about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove oil and gold prices steeply higher.
The composite S&P/TSX index of the Toronto Stock Exchange ended up 17.12 points or 0.1% at 21,548.84. It was up 1.3% for the week, marking its third consecutive weekly increase.
Wall Street stocks plummeted sharply on Tuesday as investors worried about steep U.S. rate hikes. Washington also warned that Russia was increasing its troops in Ukraine and that an invasion could happen at any moment.
Greg Taylor, Purpose Investments portfolio manager, stated that everyone is looking for hiding places. Toronto is in a good place with energy up and the golds starting to kick in.
As tensions escalated in Ukraine, the energy sector saw a 3.6% increase. This was due to concerns about tight oil supply. U.S. crude oil futures closed 3.6% higher at $93.10 per barrel.
Materials, which include precious and base metals miner companies and fertilizer company owners, saw a 3.4% increase as safe-haven demand increased. The price of gold reached $1,865.15 an ounce, its highest point in almost three months.
Magna International, a maker of auto parts, fell 6.4% after it said that disruptions to the Ambassador bridge from Canadian truckers protesting against coronavirus mandates had already begun to have an impact on its operations.
Technology ended 2.8% lower and consumer discretionary shares fell 3.2%
