Equity markets in Toronto opened higher on Thursday, lifted by gains in the materials sector, as a tech-led rally on Wall Street and upbeat U.S. economic data bolstered investor sentiment north of the border.
The TSX Composite Index recovered 96.34 points to begin Thursday at 34,832.43.
The Canadian dollar regained 0.11 cents to 70.36 cents U.S.
On the geopolitical front, developments around the U.S.-Iran conflict remained in focus after the U.S. administration sought additional funding for the war.
Economically speaking, the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—edged up by 22,000 (+0.1%) in April, following little variation in March (+5,700; +0.0%). Year over year, payroll employment was up by 78,100 (+0.4%) in April.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada's governing council agreed to keep its monetary policy nimble to respond to new U.S. trade restrictions, the impact of energy prices, or both playing out at the same time, according to the minutes of its meeting released on Wednesday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.77 points to 898.72
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher first thing Thursday, led by industrials, better by 1.2%, consumer staples, ahead 0.8%, and consumer discretionary, up 0.7%.
The four laggards were weighed most by information technology and telecoms, each down 0.8%, and energy, sliding 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ Composite fell on Thursday, even after a blowout Micron Technology earnings report, as traders moved out of key technology stocks. The market was divided as non-artificial intelligence stocks boosted the Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrials sprang 484.11 points to 52,333.01.
The S&P 500 index inched higher 6.88 points to 7,376.10.
The NASDAQ fell 165.3 points to 25,311.25.
Micron surged 12% after the chipmaker reported fiscal third-quarter results that topped analysts’ expectations.
Fellow semiconductor stock Qualcomm gained 3% after raising guidance for its non-handset revenue in fiscal 2029. Other chip names, such as Sandisk, Western Digital, KLA and Applied Materials, rose in sympathy.
However, shares of Apple led the NASDAQ lower, dropping nearly 5% after the company announced price increases on MacBook and iPad. Apple cited the surge in prices for components like chips.
Other major tech companies, which are buyers of semiconductors, also fell. Alphabet and Meta Platforms, for instance, both dropped more than 1%. Some concern may be arising that the margins of major tech companies could be crimped because of the rising price of chips.
May’s personal consumption expenditures price index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — showed that the headline index rose 0.4% on the month, just below the 0.5% rise that economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting. The headline index also rose 4.1% on a yearly basis, in line with expectations.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury bounced, lowering yields to 4.37% from Wednesday’s 4.41%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices five cents to $70.29 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $9.60 to $4,018.40. U.S. an ounce.
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