Equities in Canada’s largest market burrowed into positive territory by Thursday’s closing bell, after spending much of the day with negative readings, led by gains in tech and financials.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index changed direction and actually gained 12.84 points to close Thursday at 16,061.50
The Canadian dollar slid 0.45 cents at 77.13 cents U.S.
Among health-care issues, Canopy Growth Corporation ditched 28 cents to $36.79, while Valeant Pharmaceuticals docked three cents to $28.55.
In the real-estate sector, Brookfield Asset Management shed 40 cents to $51.64, while Colliers International Group demurred a dollar, or 1.1%, to $93.58.
Utilities also fell, with Fortis docked 43 cents, or 1%, to $41.34
Techs led the gainers, with BlackBerry gathering a penny to $15.35, while Constellation Software picked up $4.62 to $1,021.30.
Financials also made up from earlier losses, as Royal Bank climbed $1.17, or 1.2%, to $97.96, while the Bank of Nova Scotia gained 32 cents to $78.15.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was BRP Inc., which jumped $3.13, or 5.5%, to $60.20 after first-quarter results.
Superior Plus fell 79 cents, or 6%, to $12.38, the most on the TSX, after news of the company buying NGL Energy Partner's retail propane business. The second biggest decliner was Descartes Systems, down $1.89, or 4.5%, to $38.60 after first-quarter results.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said the average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $997 in March, unchanged from the previous month. Earnings were up 3.1% compared with 12 months earlier, mostly due to increases in the last six months of 2017.
The agency also said real gross domestic product grew 0.3% in the first quarter, following an increase of 0.4% in each of the previous two quarters. Final domestic demand rose by 0.5%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture gave back 4.58 points to 763.10
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, as health-care sank 0.8%, real-estate slumbered 0.6%, and utilities dropped 0.5%.
The four gainers were led by information technology, up 0.5%, while financials acquired 0.4%, and gold gained 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Thursday after President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on the European Union, Mexico and Canada, sparking fears the U.S. could enter a trade war with some key partners.
The Dow Jones Industrials thundered lower 251.94 points, or 1%, to 24,415.84, with Boeing contributing the most losses to the index.
The S&P 500 fell 18.74 points to 2,705.27, as consumer staples lagged.
The NASDAQ dipped 20.34 points to 7,442.12
Thursday also marked the last day of the month. For May, the Dow rose 1.1%, and S&P 500 picked up 2.2%. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, advanced 5.3%.
In corporate news, General Motors shares shot up 12.9% after the company said the SoftBank Vision Fund will invest $2.25 billion in the automaker's self-driving cars.
Among a slew of companies declaring earnings Thursday, lululemon athletica inc. docked 58 cents to $105.05.
The Trump administration said Thursday that tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from European Union, Canada and Mexico will take effect at midnight Thursday.
The E.U. followed up the U.S. announcement by saying it would impose countermeasures of its own, while Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the country plans to slap dollar-for-dollar tariffs on the U.S.
Meanwhile in economic news, the Commerce Department said consumer spending jumped 0.6% last month, the biggest gain in five months.
The department also said the personal consumption expenditures price index — the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation — rose 0.2% in April.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged slightly, raising yields to 2.86% from Wednesday’s 2.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.22 at $66.99 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $2.70 to $1,303.80 U.S. an ounce.
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