Equities in Canada’s biggest market rose on Thursday to a more than two-year high, led by the materials and energy groups as gold and oil prices gained.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 70.31 points to begin the session Thursday at 15,587.06
The Canadian dollar leaped 0.76 cents to 75.27 cents U.S.
Penn West Petroleum raised its 2017 capital budget to $180 million from $150 million, and said it expected a 15% increase in production from core areas
Penn West gained seven cents, or 2.9%, to $2.51.
CIBC raised the target price on Air Canada to $19.50 from $17.50 to reflect the significant turnaround that has taken place at the airline including its improved profitability, long-term labour agreements, increased margin of safety, and stronger balance sheet.
The Maple Leaf airline saw its shares lift three cents to $13.75.
CIBC raised the target price on Encana Corp to $14.00 from $12.00, citing that the fourth-quarter results have the potential to be a positive catalyst.
Encana shares gained eight cents to $17.30.
Goldman Sachs cut the target price on Kinross Gold to $5.20 from $5.40 as a result of FX flow-through. Kinross shares hiked 12 cents, or 2.7%, to $4.50.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada’s industrial product price index The Industrial Product Price Index rose 0.3% in November.
Higher prices for motorized and recreational vehicles and primary non-ferrous metal products were largely moderated by lower prices for energy and petroleum products.
The raw materials price index decreased 2.0%, mainly due to lower prices for crude energy products in the same month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange leaped 10.68 points, or 1.4%, to 791.22
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, with gold sprinting 3.4%, materials up 2.2%, and telecoms chugging ahead 0.5%.
The four laggards were weighed most by health-care and consumer discretionary stocks, each down 0.5%, while consumer staples hesitated 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities kicked off Thursday trading slightly lower, as investors parsed through a series of economic data while the Dow Jones industrial average tried to reach 20,000 for the first time.
The Dow faded 8.28 points to 19,933.88, with Travelers contributing the most losses.
The S&P 500 dipped 1.21 points to 2,269.54, with real-estate leading decliners.
The NASDAQ composite index grew 11.45 points to 5,488.46
Investors also digested several pieces of economic data. First, ADP said private employers added 153,000 jobs last month, considerably below the expected 170,000. Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims came in at 235,000, below a consensus estimate of 260,000.
Other economic data due Thursday include the IHS Markit services Purchasing Managers Index and the Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing index readings for December.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained, lowering yields to 2.42% from Wednesday’s 2.44%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices tacked on 59 cents to $53.85 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices moved higher $13.40 to $1,178.70 U.S. an ounce.
