Equities in Canada’s largest centre rose in early trading on Thursday, as energy stocks, buoyed by higher oil prices, rallied.
The S&P/TSX Composite raced ahead 62.22 points to open Thursday at 15,616.26
The Canadian dollar added 0.21 cents at 76.28 cents U.S.
Manulife Financial met its target to achieve earnings of $4 billion in 2016, reporting results which beat market expectations, benefiting from a strong performance in Asia.
Manulife dropped 13 cents to $24.45.
Telus reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit as operating expenses rose and it spent more to attract wireless customers.
Telus fell 85 cents, or 1.9%, to $43.30.
Thomson Reuters reported a higher quarterly net profit, reflecting a gain on the sale of a business, and said it expected revenue to grow this year at a low single-digit-percentage rate.
Thomson shares fell $1.80, or 3.1%, to $56.95.
Goldman Sachs raised the target price on Detour Gold to $24.00 from $22.00. Detour shares faded 19 cents, or 1%, to $19.79.
CIBC raised the price target on Northland Power to $27.00 from $25.75. Northland shares surrendered a penny to $24.44
CIBC raised the price target on TransCanada Corp. to $68.00 from $66.00. TransCanada shares prospered 47 cents to $62.28.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada’s new house pricing index edged up 0.1% in December compared with the previous month, largely reflecting price increases in Ontario and Alberta.
The agency says prices have risen at the national level for 21 months.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange grew 4.86 points to 830.27
All but three of the 12 subgroups were higher to start the day, as energy gushed 2.2%, while health-care and information technology each climbed 0.4%.
The three laggards were telecoms, down 0.6%, gold, sliding 0.3%, and materials, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities opened slightly higher on Thursday as a vacuum of economic data, combined with political uncertainty, kept a lid on markets.
The Dow Jones Industrials regrouped 45.1 points to 20,099.44, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 gained 4.85 points to 2,299.52, with energy outperforming.
The NASDAQ added 15.17 points to another all-time record of 5,697.63
The economic calendar was a thin one Thursday, with only two major reports on hand. Weekly jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 234,000, below a consensus estimate of 250,000. Wholesale trade data for December were scheduled for later this morning.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note weakened, raising yields to 2.37% from Wednesday’s 2.34%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 75 cents to $53.09 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $4.30 to $1,243.80 U.S. an ounce.
