Stock Market Closes Out Best Week of the Year

In corporate news, Gap shares fell $1.53, or 5.3%, to $27.42 after the retailer said total sales in September declined 1%, hurt by the stronger dollar, and the company gave downbeat guidance on its expected profitability in the current quarter.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 30.33 points, or 0.18 percent, to 17,081.08. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.46 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,014.89 and the Nasdaq composite rose 19.68 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,830.47.

Those advances came after Fed minutes showed officials were reluctant to raise interest rates due to global risk concerns. Traders are now pricing in about a 39 per cent chance of a rate liftoff in December, with a 62 per cent probability of a March increase. People know that this earnings season is going to be collectively weak, so they’ll want clues on how the industrials and the globally-focused sectors are looking.

“The next big hurdle for markets is earnings”, said Ogg. On the Nasdaq, 1,599 issues rose and 983.

Other stocks that hit their 52-week highs on Friday were iShares FactorSelect MSCI USA IndexETF (TSX:XFA), which gained 5 percent to trade at 21.00 a share. “That signals that it’s time for the market to roll over”.

Meanwhile the oil-sensitive loonie was up 0.48 of a USA cent at 77.30 cents United States amid general USA dollar weakness. The prices the US paid for imported goods fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in September, much smaller than the 1.6% plunge in the prior month, the government said Friday.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors lost 2.7 per cent after the company was downgraded by Barclays, which cited the company’s engineering challenges and predicted a slow production ramp-up. (IP) jumped 7% after it announced late Thursday is plans to sell its 55% stake in a joint Venue in China. On Thursday, the index gained 110.31 points, turning around earlier losses to log a fifth consecutive trading day of gains.

Worldwide markets in Asia and in Europe closed higher after normalcy returned to trading and the latest US policymakers minutes of meeting suggested that most members held out for a rate hike this year. Investec is betting on further gains for European stocks, based on positive growth expectations for the region.

Oil prices were mixed, with West Texas Intermediate climbing 0.52% to $49.69 a barrel, while Brent crude slid 0.40% to $52.84 a barrel.

Market indexes on Wall Street lacked direction and crude oil prices traded higher as investors prepare for earnings announcements scheduled next week.