Equity markets crept up on Thursday, lifted by higher oil prices and a tentative rise in global stocks, with Magna International leading the charge after announcing a partnership with U.S. ride-hailing company Lyft Inc.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 8.28 points to greet noon Thursday at 15,661.89
The Canadian dollar was down 0.6 cents at 76.59 cents U.S.
Magna was the biggest gainer on the index, up as much as 4.3% to $72.79, a two-week high, after the auto parts maker said on Wednesday it would invest $200 million in Lyft and work with the U.S. company to manufacture self-driving cars.
Wood products maker Stella-Jones Inc was the second-biggest gainer, recovering from a 6.2% drop on Wednesday after saying its margins would remain under pressure in 2018. It was up 3.6% at $45.99 on Thursday.
Energy companies including Spartan Energy, picking up 2.4%, TORC Oil & Gas gained 2.2%, and Birchcliff Energy ahead 2%
Klondex Mines was the biggest decliner on the index, losing 9.6%.
Other miners, including Ivanhoe Mines, Lundin Mining and Eldorado Gold, were also among the 10 biggest decliners, as metal prices pulled back.
Copper futures lost 1.3% to $6,900 U.S. a tonne.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that he was "very optimistic" of a successful result for his country, the United States and Mexico as they renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Economically speaking, statistics released Thursday by The Canadian Real Estate Association show national home sales declined by 6.5% from January to February. Actual (not seasonally-adjusted) activity was down 16.9% year-over-year in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked up 1.26 points to 828.54
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups moved higher, led by consumer discretionary stocks, up 2.1%, information technology, up 1.1%, and telecoms, up 0.7%.
The three laggards were weighed by gold down 0.4%, real-estate skidding 0.1%, and utilities, off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as investors assess the possibility of a trade war.
The Dow Jones Industrials took flight 242.14 points, or 1%, to 25,000.26, with UnitedHealth rising 2%.The 30-stock index also got a boost as shares of Boeing slashed earlier losses, trading 0.6% higher. The stock had fallen as much as 2.2% earlier in the session.
The S&P 500 recouped 6.27 points to 2,755.75, with industrials rising 0.7%
The NASDAQ composite Index gathered 3.96 points to 7,500.78
The White House is thinking about implementing tariffs on at least $30 billion of Chinese imports as part of a package of anti-China measures, the Wall Street Journal reported. Media also reported Tuesday that President Donald Trump may impose tariffs on $60 billion of Chinese goods.
Investors worry that other countries could retaliate by implementing their own tariffs on U.S.-made goods and sparking a trade war. This would hurt companies who do business overseas, especially large multinationals like Boeing.
In economic news, weekly jobless claims dropped by 4,000 to 226,000, in line with expectations.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell back, raising yields to Wednesday’s 2.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved forward 32 cents a barrel to $61.28 U.S.
Gold prices backed off $8.90 to $1,317.90 U.S. an ounce.
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