Equities in Toronto fell slightly on Thursday as lower commodity prices weighed on natural resource stocks, while financials edged higher after two of the country's major banks reported better-than-expected earnings.
The S&P/TSX Composite fell 13.7 points to kick off Thursday at 14,612.54, on top of Wednesday’s 130-point-plus loss.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.03 at 77.33 cents U.S.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported a 47% rise in third-quarter profit, helped by growth in its retail and business banking as well as capital markets units.
Commerce shares vaulted $2.17, or 2.1%, to $104.17.
Toronto-Dominion Bank reported third-quarter earnings that were ahead of market expectations, helped by growth in its U.S. retail and wholesale banking business.
TD shares gave back 25 cents to $57.31.
CIBC raised the target price on Pretium Resources to $15.00 from $14.00. Pretium shares gained 35 cents, or 2.8%, to $12.88.
CIBC cut the target price on Prometic Life Sciences to $4.85 from $5.00. Prometic shares acquired four cents, or 1.4%, to $2.92.
Barclays raised the price target on Royal Bank of Canada to $74.00 from $72.00 with underweight rating. RBC shares docked 44 cents to $81.42.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $958 in June, up 0.4% from the previous month. Compared with 12 months earlier, average weekly earnings increased 0.5%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 2.41 points to 787.11
All but three of the 12 subgroups were negative, as consumer staples lost 0.5%, while consumer discretionary and information technology stocks each lost 0.4%.
The three gainers were led by gold and health-care stocks, each up 1.1%, while materials completed the list, up 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded mostly flat Thursday, a day ahead of a key speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, and following the release of solid economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials edged up 7.09 points to begin the session at 18,488.57, with Home Depot contributing the most to gains.
The S&P 500 poked ahead 0.25 points to 2,175.69, with health-care among the laggards. Health-care posted its worst day since June 24 on Wednesday.
The NASDAQ Composite gave back 0.47 points to 5,217.23,
Investors also analyzed strong economic data released Thursday. Initial jobless claims fell for a third straight week to 61,000. Durable goods orders for July rose 4.4%, above expectations.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 1.57% from Wednesday’s 1.56%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 42 cents a barrel to $47.19 U.S.
Gold prices fell $5.00 at $1,324.70 U.S. an ounce.
