The markets today

Canada’s main stock index closed moderately higher in a broad advance that included a rebounding share price for troubled cannabis producer CannTrust Holdings Inc.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 42.84 points Friday at 16,531.04 to mark a gain of 45.1 points for the week. CannTrust shares spiked as much as 20 per cent before closing up 16.7 per cent at $3.01 following news that the cannabis company’s chief executive officer had been fired amid an ongoing investigation into allegations it was illegally growing marijuana in unauthorized rooms. The company’s board of directors said Thursday night that it has decided to “terminate with cause” chief executive Peter Aceto and demanded company chair Eric Paul resign, which he did. The company’s shares are still well below the $6.50 level it was trading at before the story broke, and the more than $13 it was trading at in March. Shares of other cannabis companies were down Friday, helping push the health care index down 0.21 per cent. The energy index was also down 0.81 per cent as worries about global growth continue, while most other sectors saw gains.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 51.47 points at 27,192.45. The S&P 500 index was up 22.19 points at 3,025.86, while the Nasdaq composite was up 91.67 points at 8,330.21.

U.S. stocks were up, with record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq after a mixed week of earnings leaned positive, said Ryan Crowther, portfolio manager at Franklin Bissett Investment Management. Google parent company Alphabet Inc. drove gains with a 10.45 per cent climb after beating expectations.

U.S. data also showed its economy grew 2.1 per cent in the second quarter, but the expectation is still for the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark interest rate next week, said Crowther.

The Canadian dollar averaged 75.86 cents US, down from Thursday’s average of 76.07 cents US. The September crude contract ended up 18 cents at US$56.20 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was down 7.7 cents at US$2.15 per mmBTU.

The August gold contract closed up $4.60 at US$1,419.30 an ounce and the September copper contract was down 1.9 cents at $2.69 a pound.