The outlook for stocks is mixed Friday morning as crude oil prices continued to rise, while the Canadian dollar retreated from a 14-year high.

Crude futures, which rose $1.39 to $63.36 a barrel Thursday, extended gains in electronic trade, advancing to 35¢ at US$63.71 a barrel on Friday.

The Canadian dollar edged lower. The loonie opened at US88.18¢, down 0.21 of a cent.

In today’s earnings news, Royal Bank boosted its dividend after its first-quarter profit jumped 20% to $1.17 billion.

Asian markets fell overnight. In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 246.42 points, or 1.55%, to finish at 15,663.34 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 80.45 points, or 0.51%, to 15,802.

Toronto stocks rallied for a second-straight day on Thursday as gold-mining and energy shares enjoyed another day of rising commodity prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed 112.33 points, or 0.95%, higher at 11,906.91, its highest close since reaching the 12,000 mark on February 6.

The benchmark index rose 106.24 points on Wednesday.

The oil and gas sector climbed 2.13%, as crude oil prices ended more than $1 higher, rising for a third consecutive session.


Higher crude oil prices also helped to boost the Canadian dollar.

The loonie closed up 0.32 of cent at US88.39¢ after hitting an intra-day high of US88.50¢.

Gold-mining shares, part of the materials group leaped 4.41%, as prices for the precious metal rose.

The financial services group rose 0.18% as investors digested first-quarter earnings reports from three of the big banks.

CIBC shares closed at $81.23, up $1.67, after its quarterly profit beat analysts’ expectations on a per share basis. Net earnings declined to $580 million from year-earlier $707 million.

National Bank drifted $1.36 lower to $63.17 after its quarterly earnings declined to $217 million from a year-ago $239 million.

Bank of Montreal, which released its earnings yesterday, saw its shares drop $1.37 to $66.88. BMO earned $630 million, up from $602 million last year, and raised its dividend to 53¢.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index jumped 50.90 points, or 1.99%, to 2,611.87.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as oil prices increased sharply, while same-store retail sales for February disappointed the market.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 28.02 points, or 0.25%, at 11,025.51. The S&P was down 2.10 points, or 0.16%, at 1,289.14. The Nasdaq composite index was down 3.53 points, or 0.15%, at 2,311.11.