Markets in Canada’s largest centre managed to keep some of what they made Thursday, as strength in energy and telecom stocks prevailed over losses in the health-care and tech sectors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 19.97 points – off its highs of the day -- to conclude Thursday trading at 15,191.36
The Canadian dollar fell 0.71 cents to 79.62 cents U.S.
Among the dominant energy producers, Cenovus jumped 85 cents, or 8.5% to $10.80, after reporting a profit in the second quarter compared to a year-ago loss, helped by its recent purchase of ConocoPhillips' Canadian oil-sands assets.
Suncor Energy hiked 66 cents, or 1.7%, to $39.64.
In the telecom sector, BCE Inc. triumphed 73 cents, or 1.3%, to $59.02, while TELUS Corporation jumped 51 cents, or 1.1%, to $45.44.
Consumer discretionary stocks also found their way into positive country, as Magna International grew 35 cents to $60.49, while Shaw Communications picked up 15 cents to $27.74.
In health-care, Canopy Growth Corporation subsided 20 cents, or 2.2%, to $8.95, while Valeant Pharmaceuticals lapsed 64 cents, or 2.9%, to $21.46.
Among techs, BlackBerry lost nine cents to $12.21.
Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold miner by production, rose 68 cents, or 3.4% to $20.86, as investors cheered the news it had produced more gold than expected and lowered its costs.
Agnico Eagle Mines gained 55 cents to $59.57. Rival Goldcorp fell $1.00, or 5.8%, to $16.14 despite beating earnings expectations, as production at some mines fell short of analyst forecasts.
On things macroeconomic, Statistics Canada reported average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees registered at $972 in May, virtually unchanged from April but up 2.0% from 12 months earlier.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 0.97 points to 769.23.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive on the session as energy shot 1.8% higher, telecoms gained 1% and consumer discretionary stocks advanced 0.3%.
The five laggards were weighed most by health-care, sliding 1.4%, information technology issues, declining 1.3%, and gold, down 0.4%
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed mixed on Thursday after the technology sector rolled over.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 85.54 points to forge a new all-time high at 21,796.55
The S&P 500 dropped off its all-time high, losing 2.41 points to 2,475.42, as tech stocks dropped 0.8% to lead decliners.
The NASDAQ also slumped from Wednesday’s all-time high, descending 40.56 points to 6,382.19
Shares of Facebook jumped nearly 6% Thursday before paring gains. The social media giant reported second-quarter earnings per share of $1.32 on revenue of $9.32 billion. Analysts expected the company to post earnings per share of $1.13 on sales of $9.2 billion. The company also reported better-than-expected monthly active users, a key metric for Facebook.
Facebook's stock is one of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 this year, having gained 44%.
Tech has been the champion of the U.S. stock market this year. The sector has spiked 23% in 2017, outdistancing other sectors.
Overall, this earnings season has been positive, with most S&P 500 companies topping profit and sales estimates.
Investors were waiting on earnings from Starbucks, whose shares bolted $1.56, or 2.7%, to $59.50.
In economic news, initial jobless claims came in at 244,000, slightly above the expected 240,000. Durable goods orders, meanwhile, rose 6.5% in June.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slumped, raising yields to 2.32% from Wednesday’s 2.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 31 cents to $49.06 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices advanced $10.70 to $1,260.10 U.S. an ounce.
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