Canadian Stocks Move Mostly Higher After U.S. Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Friday, extending the upward move seen over the two previous sessions.

With the continued advance, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index largely offset the sharp pullback seen during trading on Tuesday.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index moved to the upside early in the session and remained firmly positive throughout the day before closing up 166.79 points or 0.6 percent at 30,353.07.

The strength on Bay Street came as U.S. consumer price inflation data reinforced optimism about further interest rates cuts by the Federal Reserve in the coming months.

A report from the Labor Department showed U.S. consumer prices rose by less than expected in September, while the annual rate of growth also came in below analyst estimates.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he is cutting off trade negotiations with Canada over an ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs.

Trump called the ad "fake" in a post on his social media platform Truth Social and accused Canada of trying to interfere with an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision on the legality of his "reciprocal tariffs."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford initially defended the ad but later said the province will pause airing the ad after the World Series games this weekend in order for U.S.-Canada trades to resume.

Technology stocks turned in some of the market's best performances, with the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology Index surged by 2.6 percent.

Financial and telecom stocks also saw some strength on the day, while gold stocks moved to the downside amid a modest decrease by the price of the precious metal.