The close: TSX ends flat while S&P 500 teases 2,500-mark

The Toronto stock market wavered Friday and closed flat as declines in energy and utilities were offset by gains in consumer discretionary and staples stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 0.31 of a point to 15,173.03. Five of the index’s sectors were up, and five were down. Consumer discretionary shares rose 0.7 per cent and telecom services gained 0.5 per cent. Utilities dropped 1.5 per cent and energy was off 0.5 per cent.

Ivanhoe Mines fell 3.9 per cent and Eldorado Gold was down 3.1 per cent. But Empire Co. rose 4. 3 per cent and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan was up 2.1 per cent. BCE added 0.7 per cent and Telus Corp. gained 0.5 per cent.

The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday, hitting the 2,500 level for the first time, as technology stocks bounced back after two days of declines and telecommunications shares also rose.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 64.86 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 22,268.34, the S&P 500 gained 4.59 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 2,500.21 and the Nasdaq Composite added 19.38 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 6,448.47.

For the week, S&P 500 rises 1.58 per cent, the Dow gained 2.16 per cent and the Nasdaq rose 1.39 per cent.

All three main indexes high intra-day all-time highs.

The S&P 500 information technology sector rose 0.21 per cent, powered by an Nvidia-led surge in chipmakers, while Apple rose 1.0 per cent in its first gain since unveiling new iPhones on Tuesday.

The semiconductor index surged 1.6 per cent, boosted by Nvidia’s 6.3-per cent jump to a record high after Evercore ISI raised its price target on the stock.

The S&P 500 tech index has been the best performing sector this year, rising more than 25 per cent, far outpacing the broader S&P 500’s 11.5-per cent growth.

Wall Street largely shrugged off reports showing an unexpected drop in U.S. retail sales last month and the first drop in industrial output since January, both in part due to the impact of Hurricane Harvey.

“Investors are keeping an eye on the retail sales data, thinking it may be transitory, and are focusing on growth areas such as technology, which is mostly immune to policy decisions in D.C. and has avoided all the global noise,” said Michael Antonelli, managing director of institutional sales trading at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee.

U.S. stocks have surged this year, despite turmoil in the White House, doubts about President Donald Trump’s ability to push through his pro-business reforms, uncertainty over the timing of rate hikes, and lately, tensions over Pyongyang’s missile tests.

Earlier, North Korea fired a second missile in as many weeks over Japan, drawing criticism from global leaders but barely moving shares as investors await the next catalyst – the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Sept. 19-20.

Boeing rose 1.54 per cent to a record high after Canaccord Genuity raised its price target for the stock.

Among the laggards was Oracle, which sank 7.67 per cent, on track for its worst day in more than four years after disappointing forecasts for its profit and cloud business.

Reuters