Canada's main stock index edged higher at open on Thursday, after two straight sessions of declines, driven by gains in technology shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered 20.15 points to begin Thursday at 16,151.62
The Canadian dollar reacquired 13 cents to 74.13 cents U.S.
Cowen and Company cut the price target on Canada Goose Holdings to $67 from $92. Goose shares lost three cents to $45.91.
Barclays raised the price target on Descartes Systems Group to $61 from $55. Descartes gained five cents to $54.64.
Morgan Stanley raised the price target on Intact Financial to $128.00 from $125.00. Intact shares gained 91 cents to $117.66.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $1,016 in March, up 0.8% from February following four months of little change.
The agency adds that, compared with 12 months earlier, earnings grew by 1.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 0.52 points to 603.96.
The 12 Toronto subgroups were split evenly, as health-care stocks picked up 0.8%, while energy and industrials each gained 0.3%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by information technology, gold and real-estate, each sagging 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Thursday as the rapid decline in bond yields stabilized, easing concerns about a recession.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 61.47 points to 25,187.88, as Intel shares outperformed.
The S&P 500 regained 12.76 points to 2,795.78, led by gains in the real estate and consumer discretionary sectors.
The NASDAQ Composite added 39.78 points to 7,587.09
Bank shares rose slightly along with yields on Thursday. J.P. Morgan Chase rose 0.6%, and Wells Fargo rose 0.4%. Citigroup gained 1.8% after an analyst at Goldman Sachs upgraded the bank to buy from neutral.
In economic news, the second read on first-quarter U.S. Gross Domestic Product showed the economy expanded by 3.1% on an annualized basis. The 3.1% print topped a Dow Jones estimate of 3%.
The protracted trade dispute between China and the U.S. still weighed on markets. A senior Chinese diplomat ramped up the rhetoric overnight. Also, China has halted soy purchases from the U.S., according to Bloomberg News.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui said Thursday that provoking trade disputes amounted to “naked economic terrorism.”
Washington and Beijing have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of one another’s goods since the start of 2018, battering financial markets. Earlier this month, both countries ratcheted up tensions through higher tariffs.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 2.27% from Wednesday’s 2.26%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices docked two cents to $58.79 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were unchanged at $1,286.30 U.S. an ounce.
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