A rally in oil prices led a broad advance by stocks in Canada’s largest financial centre Thursday, as investors warmed to the assurance from the U.S. Federal Reserve that interest rates may rise, just not yet.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 86.35 points, to close Thursday at 14,797.17
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.24 cents at 76.57 cents U.S.
Energy prices gushed once again, as Organization of the Petroleum Countries and Russian oil ministers indicated they were close to an agreement on production.
Baytex Energy led a sterling energy sector, gaining 24 cents, or 4.7%, to $5.33, while Suncor Energy advanced 54 cents, or 1.6%, to $34.94.
Consumer discretionary stocks also moved to the plus side, for example, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, up 26 cents to $46.22.
Gold stocks, however, took a bit of a beating, as Iamgold dumped 25 cents, or 4.2%, to $5.64, while Yamana Gold shed 19 cents, or 3%, to $6.12.
Materials were behind Wednesday’s close, as Teck Resources plummeted $1.92 per share, or 7.9%, to $22.27.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that employment insurance beneficiaries in Canada totaled 575,200 in July, up 4.4% from the month before.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved negative, however, 2.67 points to close Thursday at 810.62
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher midday, led by energy, up 1.5%, consumer discretionaries ahead 1%, and utilities moving forward 0.9%.
The two laggards were gold, down 0.9%, and materials, sliding 0.2%.
ON WALL STREET
U.S. stocks closed higher once again, on Thursday, with the NASDAQ having another record-setting session, as investors digested several economic data releases while processing the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained higher 98.76 points to 18,392.46, with Procter & Gable leading advancers and with Pfizer and DuPont as the only decliners.
The S&P 500 climbed 14.06 points to 2,177.18, with real-estate gaining more than 1.5% to lead all sectors higher. The S&P also turned positive for the month.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped another 44.34 points to 5,339.52, as Apple rose 0.8%
Existing home sales for August fell 0.9%, while economists expected an increase of 1.3%. Leading indicators for August, meanwhile, fell 0.2%. Before the bell, the U.S. Labor Department said weekly jobless claims fell to a two-month low.
The Fed kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday, a move that was largely expected, but hinted at a possible rate hike before year's end.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury hiked sharply, lowering yields to 1.62% from Wednesday’s 1.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices improved 81 cents to $46.15 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices spiked $10.10 at $1,341.50 U.S. an ounce.
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