Canada's main stock index rose on Friday, extending its rebound from a 5-month low set intraday the day before, with energy shares leading a broad-based rally ahead of the Victoria Day holiday long weekend as oil prices rose.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed up 181.26 points, or 1.19 per cent, at 15,458.46.

"The TSX is doing really nicely heading into the long weekend," said Colin Cieszynski, senior market analyst at CMC Markets Canada.

Investor sentiment toward Canada became less negative after the index had been pressured earlier in the week by the prospect of a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Cieszynski added.

On Thursday, the Trump administration set the clock ticking toward a mid-August start of renegotiations of NAFTA and the TSX hit its lowest intraday level since Dec. 7 at 15,164.73.

For the week, the index fell 0.5 per cent.

Canadian economic data showed the country's annual inflation rate held steady in April, while March retail sales climbed more than expected, suggesting consumer spending was holding up.

The energy group jumped 2.5 per cent, bolstered by higher oil prices, with Enbridge Inc gaining 1.4 percent to $53.51.

U.S. crude prices settled up 98 cents US at US$50.33 a barrel, closing out a second week of gains on growing expectations that Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producing countries will agree next week to extend output cuts.

Some of the most influential movers on the index were banking issues, with Bank of Nova Scotia topping the list, rising 1.4 per cent to $75.48.

Home Capital Group Inc, which has been struggling to finance its assets after Canada's biggest securities regulator accused the company of making misleading statements to investors, rose 3.7 per cent to $9.20 after it reported an increase in its savings deposit balances.

The overall financial services group, which accounts for about a third of the index's weight, gained nearly one per cent.

All of the index's 10 main groups ended higher.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.3 per cent.

Potash Corp advanced nearly four per cent to $22.48 as the fertilizer producer's chief executive said a change in SQM's governance that gave Potash greater influence did not reflect its intent to raise its stake in the Chilean lithium producer.

Canadian National Railway Co rose 1.3 per cent to $101.24, while the overall industrials sector rose 1.0 per cent.

U.S. MARKETS

U.S. stocks rose but closed below their session highs on renewed  concerns about Donald Trump's presidency, after two new reports related to a federal investigation into possible coordination between Russia and Trump's election campaign.

A senior White House adviser is a significant person of interest in the law enforcement investigation of possible Russian ties, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Separately the New York Times reported that Trump told Russian officials at the White House that firing FBI Director James Comey relieved "great pressure" from the ongoing probe. The Times report cited a document summarizing the meeting.

"I'm sure some of [the move] is related to that, and the fact that Trump is going to be out of the country and nobody's quite sure what he's going to do," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago.

He added, however, that the market did not seem too concerned as the major indexes were still in positive territory.

"We've got two days now to wring our hands about what might happen," he said.

Trump left on Friday for his first foreign trip since taking office, which the White House hopes will shift the focus away from domestic controversies.

While Wall Street ended higher it failed to fully regain all the ground lost in Wednesday's big selloff after reports earlier this week that Trump tried to interfere in the federal investigation.

Investors have been closely following events in Washington as they worry whether Trump will be able to fulfill campaign promises for fiscal stimulus and tax reform. Many investors saw the policy promises as a key reason for the post-election rally.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 141.82 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 20,804.84, the S&P 500 had gained 16.01 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 2,381.73 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 28.57 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 6,083.70.

But all three indexes clocked losses for the week with the Dow and S&P falling 0.4 per cent and Nasdaq off 0.6 per cent

All of the 11 major S&P industry sectors ended the day higher. Industrials showed the biggest percentage gain with a 1.36-per-cent jump while Energy rose 1.24 per cent. Oil company shares were boosted by a two-per-cent increase in oil futures related to growing expectations that OPEC and other producing countries will agree at a meeting next week to extend crude output cuts.

Some market participants said that for much of the session, they turned their focus to strong quarterly earnings from companies such as Autodesk Inc and Deere & Co.

Software developer Autodesk jumped 14.7 per cent and was the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P after reporting better-than-expected quarterly revenue.

Deere hit an all-time high of US$122.24 and closed up 7.3 per cent at US$120.90 after the farm and construction equipment maker posted a better-than-estimated quarterly profit.

Deere helped lift Caterpillar Inc 2.2 per cent. General Electric Co was the S&P's top driver with a 2.4-per-cent rise.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 3.13-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.75-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 26 new 52-week highs and eight new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 81 new highs and 58 new lows.

About 7.03 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges in line with the average volume for the last 20 sessions.