By Adriano Marchese


Stocks listed in Toronto were firmly higher Friday at midday, driven by a broad-based push from most sectors. Consumer durables and health tech were the only sectors in the red, while tech, utilities and materials stocks were the leaders.

On the broader economic front, Canadian investors increased their holdings of foreign securities in November, while foreigners added Canadian securities with unprecedented buying of money-market instruments.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index rose by 0.8% to 25055.02 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 increased by 0.9% to 1503.96.

Shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank rose 3.9% to 82.67 Canadian dollars ($57.43) after it said it is accelerating the move to new leadership and overhauling its board. This will include Chief Executive Bharat Masrani leaving the post two months earlier than planned and Chairman Alan MacGibbon set to step down as the lender looks to put behind it the scandal of failings in its anti-money-laundering systems.


Other market movers:

Medical Facilities shares rose 6.6% to C$16.52 after it announced its plans to buy back up to C$80.7 million worth of shares, returning profit to shareholders from the sale of one of its specialty surgical hospitals.


Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-17-25 1219ET