VOLATILE WEEK ENDS ON SLIGHT UP NOTE

The Toronto stock market closed higher Friday at the end of a volatile week that saw the TSX sink further into negative territory for the year amid a new round of concern about the pace of the global economic recovery.

The S&P/TSX composite index climbed 69.21 points to 12,065.55 with a good chunk of those gains coming from mining companies which have led losses this week.

The Canadian dollar was down US0.03¢ at US97.44¢ amid data showing inflation pressures remain weak.

Statistics Canada said the consumer price index rose 1% in March compared with a year earlier, down from a 1.2% rise in February. That was lower than the 1.1% reading that economists had expected.

U.S. markets were also positive at the end of a week where a rally that has gone on practically non-stop since the start of the year looked shaky.

The Dow Jones industrials edged up 10.37 points to 14,547.51, the Nasdaq composite index was up 39.70 points to 3,206.06 and the S&P 500 index advanced 13.64 points to 1,555.25.

Earnings news continued to come in mixed as General Electric Corp. reported a profit of $3.5 billion, or 34¢ per share, on revenue of $35 billion. During last year’s first quarter, GE earned $3 billion on $35.2 billion in revenue. GE shares fell 4.06% to US$21.75 as GE said that deteriorating economic conditions in Europe dragged down results.

IBM shares dropped 8.28% to $190 after it said its first-quarter profit fell 1% due to delays in closing several large software and mainframe computer deals.

McDonald’s earned $1.27 billion, or $1.26 per share in the latest quarter. That compared with $1.266 billion, or $1.23 per share, a year ago. Revenue edged up 1% to $6.6 billion. Analysts expected a profit of $1.26 per share on revenue of $6.59 billion and its shares drifted down 1.95% to $99.92.

Markets got off to a weak start Monday amid data showing growth in China coming in lower than expected. Losses picked up mid-week after the International Monetary Fund downgraded its estimates for global growth.

Worries about slowing demand sent commodity prices sharply lower and sparked a sell-off on the TSX, leaving the main index down about 3% year to date. The TSX lost 2.2% this past week.

New York indexes were still up substantially for the year, with the Dow industrials remaining up about 11% year to date. But U.S. markets were still down sharply for the week and many analysts say they wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them step back a bit after running up so far, so fast.