12:25 PM EST, 12/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange is up near 280 points on some bargain buying after six days of losses, even as commodity prices remain mixed and political turmoil continues in Ottawa.

All sectors are higher, with miners (+2.8%) and healthcare (+2.4%), posting the biggest gains.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, whose party has been helping to keep the Liberals in power, said today in an open letter he would vote in favor of a motion of no-confidence in the government. Singh said he will put forward a motion of non-confidence in the next sitting of the House of Commons, expected to be late January.

Oil prices fell for a second day early on Friday as the dollar rose to a two-year high after the Federal Reserve this week indicated it will cut interest rates next year less than previous expected. Demand worries also remain in focus as China's economy weakens and the energy transition takes hold.

Gold moved higher after falling for the previous six sessions as the dollar eased off a two-year high after a key U.S. inflation measure rose less than expected in November..

Natural gas prices advanced for a fourth-straight session, rising to the highest since Jan. 2023, despite mild forecasts and high inventories.

Investors here may have been encouraged by the latest retail sales numbers. CIBC said even though the latest release wasn't as strong as the prior one, consumer spending has still improved relative to the trend seen earlier in the year.

CIBC noted Canadian retail sales posted a second consecutive 0.6% advance in October. It noted much of the gain in October sales was driven by prices, and by increased spending in the auto sector. Combined with an advance estimate for no change in November, it appears that growth in retail sales volumes is taking a breather following the surge seen in Q3.

However, CIBC notes that the Fed's announcement in late November of a GST holiday from mid-December may have encouraged some households to defer purchases and could have dampened November retail sales slightly. We will need to see the December data to get a full view of holiday spending, CIBC added.

Released alongside the retail sales data, CIBC said an early estimate for wholesale trade in November pointed to a 0.7% decline relative to the prior month. Combined with the flat reading for retail, today's data suggest that overall GDP growth may have failed to pick up as expected in November, although we will receive a full view of that on Monday, CIBC added.

For its part, Rosenberg Research said Canadian retail sales missed expectations in October and an advanced read on November "signals a loss of momentum". Nothing here to shift the BoC from continued easing, even if slowing the pace, the research said.