Stocks moved slightly upward in Canada Thursday, as modest gains in energy and industrial stocks helped keep the market in positive territory.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index pointed upward 48.64 points to open Thursday at 15,691.63
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.01 cents at 74.45 cents U.S.
Royal Bank of Canada, JPMorgan and Bank of Montreal took the top three positions advising on Canadian equity issues in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data released on Thursday.
Royal shares gathered 56 cents to $97.60 early Thursday, while BMO added 40 cents to $100.03.
Corus Entertainment reported an 86% rise in quarterly revenue, helped by higher income from its television business.
Corus shares docked 11 cents to $12.85.
Barrick Gold has confirmed that China's Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd will pay $960 million for a 50% stake in Barrick’s Veladero gold mine in Argentina
Barrick shares lost 18 cents to $25.83.
National Bank Financial raised the target price on Cascades Inc to $16.00 from $13.50. Cascades shares gave back four cents to $15.27.
CIBC raised the price target on Hudson’s Bay Co. to $14 from $12.50. Bay shares dipped three cents to $10.42.
KBW started coverage on Intact Financial with market perform rating and a $101.00 price target.
Intact shares sank 72 cents to $94.41.
On matters economic, Statistics Canada reported that municipalities issued $7.5 billion worth of building permits in February, down 2.5% from January.
The agency attributes much of this decline to lower construction intentions for single-family dwellings and institutional structures.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 0.49 points to 819.81
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups moved higher in the trading day’s first hour, as energy gushed 0.8%, industrials grew 0.4%, and information technology ticked 0.3%
The two laggards were gold, off 0.4%, and real-estate, fading 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded mostly lower on Thursday as Wall Street turned its eyes to a key meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 27.96 points to 20,676.11, with Goldman Sachs contributed the most losses.
The S&P 500 gained 3.4 points to 2,356.35, with telecommunications falling 1.5% to lead decliners.
The NASDAQ Composite recouped 6.3 points to 5,870.78
The two-day meeting was set to begin Thursday in Mar-a-Lago, Florida and the two leaders are expected to discuss a series of issues, including trade and North Korea
On the data front, weekly jobless claims fell to 234,000, well below an expected print of 250,000. On Friday, investors will pore over the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly employment report.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell slightly, raising yields to 2.34% from Wednesday’s 2.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 43 cents at $51.58 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices went up $7.20 at $1,255.70 U.S. an ounce.
