It seemed unlikely when the Toronto Stock Exchange kicked off the trading week Monday with its worst day in more than two years that it was on the way to a stellar week.
But that's precisely what's likely to be the case.
During early trading Friday, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 52.27 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 12,592.07.
The TSX followed Monday's 4.04 per cent loss with three straight days of gains. Even a flat finished Friday would put the TSX up 3.1 per cent for the week, which would be its best Monday-Friday showing in more than a year.
Looking at early trading in the U.S. Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 150.99 points, or 1.35 per cent, to 11,294.30. The Nasdaq composite index rose 23.58 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 2,516.26.
That came after U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales were up 0.5 per cent last month, in line with economists' expectations.
Turning to commodities, crude oil was up 83 cents U.S. to $86.55 U.S. a barrel in New York. Gold was fairly flat, dropping $1.70 U.S. to $1,749.80 U.S. an ounce
The Canadian dollar gained 29 basis points to $1.0147 U.S..
European markets were up following a ban in some countries, including France, on short-selling financial stocks. The United Kingdom's FTSE index was up 115.08 points, or 2.23 per cent, to 5,277.91. France's CAC rose 94.21 points, or 3.05 per cent, to 3,183.91. In Germany, the DAX was up 163.3, or 2.82 per cent, to 5,960.96.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index was down 18.22 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,963. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 24.87 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 19,620.01. In mainland China, the Shanghai composite index was up 11.67 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 2,593.17.
On Thursday, the TSX surged 340.91 points, or 2.79 per cent, to close at 12,539.80. The Dow Jones charged ahead by 523.37 points, or 3.95 per cent, to 11,143.31, while the Nasdaq was up 111.63 points, or 4.69 per cent, to 2,492.68.
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