Stocks in Canada’s largest market barely cleared the breakeven point Thursday, powered largely gold and industrial concerns.
The S&P/TSX Composite improved 11.96 points to close Thursday at 15,409.81
The Canadian dollar fell 0.25 cents at 75.13 cents U.S.
Among gold issues, Barrick Gold took on 26 cents, or 1.2%, to $22.56, while Iamgold gained four cents to $5.90.
Industrials fared well, too, as Bombardier gained three cents, or 1.1%, to $2.68, while Canadian Pacific galloped $7.63, or nearly 4%, to $200.11
Among materials, Cameco jumped $1.46, or 10.2%, to $15.85, and First Quantum Minerals spiked 22 cents, or 1.3%, to $16.89
Among information technology stocks, BlackBerry forfeited 10 cents, or 1.1%, to $9.44
Health-care stocks waned, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals dwindled 20 cents, or 1%, to $19.86, while Canopy Growth dipped eight cents to $9.70.
In consumer staples, Loblaw Companies faded 38 cents to $69.77.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $7.9 billion in November, largely through sales of U.S. instruments. At the same time, foreign acquisitions of Canadian securities slowed to $7.2 billion, following a $15.8-billion investment in October.
Elsewhere, manufacturing sales rose 1.5% in November to $51.8 billion, following a 0.6% decline in October.
The agency attributed the rise to higher sales in the primary metal, petroleum and coal product, and chemical manufacturing industries.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 1.46 points to 793.14
Seven of the 12 subgroups were positive on the day, with gold better by 0.7%, industrials up 0.6%, and materials surging 0.5%.
The five laggards were weighed most by information technology, down 0.8%, health-care off 0.7%, and consumer staples, falling 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed lower on Thursday, with real estate falling around 1% as investors eagerly awaited President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 72.32 points to 19,732.40, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most losses, bringing the blue-chips’ losing streak to five.
The S&P 500 lost 8.2 points to 2,263.69, with real-estate leading decliners.
The NASDAQ composite index tailed off 15.57 points to 5,540.08
Investors in the U.S. also focused on corporate quarterly results as earnings season continued. Bank of New York Mellon and Union Pacific were among the companies reporting before the bell, with Dow components IBM and American Express set to report after the close. Video streaming giant Netflix saw its shares rose 3.8%, having posted solid results on strong subscriber growth.
Several Trump cabinet nominees are slated to testify before Congress, including Treasury secretary designate Steve Mnuchin.
In economic news, weekly jobless in the States claims dropped 15,000 to 234,000, around their lowest levels in 40 years. Housing starts, meanwhile, spiked 11.3% in December, beating estimates. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve business conditions index rose to 23.6, above a consensus estimate of 15.8.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note swooned, driving up yields to 2.47% from Wednesday’s 2.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 30 cents to $51.34 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices tumbled $10.20 to $1,201.90 U.S. an ounce.
