(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index opened higher on Friday as investors cheered softer-than-anticipated retail sales data that cemented bets of June interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada, while materials stocks led gains on higher gold prices.
At 9:30 a.m. ET (13:30 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 57.02 points, or 0.26%, at 22,257.81. On a weekly basis, the benchmark S&P/TSX index looks set for its biggest drop since mid-April.
(Reporting by Khushi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Ravi Prakash Kumar)
