Equities in Toronto saw little movement Thursday, as advances in gold issues were pretty much offset by lower prices for tech stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite settled 3.28 points to close Thursday at 15,399.11
The Canadian dollar pointed upward 0.14 cents at 76.77 cents U.S.
Gold issues dominated, with Goldcorp soaring 54 cents, or 2.6%, to $21.36, while Barrick Gold climbed 57 cents, or 2.4%, to $24.68.
Health-care stocks proved the runners-up Thursday, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals moved up 67 cents, or 3.8%, to $18.55, while Canopy
Growth Corporation took on 11 cents, or 1.1%, to $10.16.
On the other side of the coin, technology stocks stubbed their toes, as BlackBerry gave back seven cents to $9.08
Telecoms also faltered, as BCE stumbled 95 cents, or 1.6%, to $57.44, and Shaw Communications dipped nine cents to $27.95.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.33 points to 816.23
The 12 subgroups were split on the day, as gold gained 1.4%, health-care bettered itself by 1%, and real-estate picked up 0.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by information technology, stepping back 0.7%, telecoms, down 0.6%, and consumer discretionaries, off 0.5%
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks ended mostly flat on Thursday as investors looked ahead to Friday's jobs report, amid growing tensions between the United States and other global powers.
The Dow Jones Industrials shed 6.03 points to 19,884.91, with UnitedHealth Group contributing the most losses and Merck the most gains.
The S&P 500 regained 1.3 points to 2,280.85, with telecommunications falling 1.2 percent to lead decliners and real estate outperforming.
The NASDAQ fell 6.45 points to 5,636.20
Recent employment data has been strong, with ADP and Moody's reporting private firms added 246,000 jobs last month, well above estimates.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday, following its first monetary policy meeting. The central bank also gave little clues when it may be raising rates next.
President Donald Trump warned Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday that he was ready to send U.S. troops to stop "bad hombres down there" unless the Mexican military does more to control them
Separately, the Washington Post reported that a call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday did not go well.
Investors also focused on economic data, as initial jobless claims fell 14,000 to 246,000. The print is also below a consensus estimate of 250,000. Fourth-quarter non-farm productivity rose 1.3%. Investors also looked ahead to the January jobs report, which is scheduled for release Friday morning.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were up slightly bringing yields down to 2.47%, from Wednesday’s 2.48%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 19 cents to $53.69 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices recouped $9.30 to $1,217.60 U.S. an ounce.
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