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% increase for BlackBerry stock 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. Its shared closed up 11¢, or 5.24%, to $2.21 — a reversal from the day before when they fell 7.49% after investors weighed the prospect of a 220% 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% on the commodity-heavy TSX as oil prices tumbled.
The November crude contract gave back 58¢ 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% this month.
In currency markets, the Canadian dollar was trading at an average price of US80.32¢, down 0.25 of a cent.
Elsewhere in commodities, the December gold contract was up US90¢ to US$1,288.70 an ounce.
The November natural gas contract gave back US4¢ at US$3.02 per mmBTU and the December copper contract added US5¢ to US$2.98 a pound.