Stocks in Canada’s largest market opened higher on Thursday, boosted by earnings that beat market expectations at three of the country's biggest banks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 73.56 points to open Thursday at 15,493.05
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.01 cents to 74.56 cents U.S.
Royal Bank of Canada reported an 11% increase in second-quarter earnings, beating market forecasts, helped by a strong performance in its capital markets and wealth management businesses.
RBC shares gained $1.40, or 1.5%, to $94.40.
Toronto-Dominion Bank reported second-quarter results which were ahead of market expectations, helped by a strong performance at its retail and investment banking businesses.
TD shares climbed $1.51, or 2.4%, to $64.55.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported a better-than-expected second-quarter profit, helped by growth across its businesses.
CIBC shares lost nine cents to $106.21.
RBC raised the target price on Dollarama to $138.00 from $133.00. Dollarama shares picked up 43 cents to $121.69.
CIBC cut the target price on Bank of Montreal to $105.00 from $109.00. BMO shares gained 12 cents to $92.10.
RBC raised the target price on PrairieSky Royalty to $38.00 from $34.00. PrairieSky shares increased in price 40 cents, or 1.3%, to $30.30.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings were positioned at $966.00 during March, not much different from February, and up 0.9% from March 2016.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 0.7 points to 801.69
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups moved higher in the first hour, as financials climbed 1%, energy improved 0.7%, and consumer discretionary stocks gained 0.4%.
The three laggards were gold, down 1.2%, health-care, off 0.4%, and materials, 0.3% to the bad.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday as Wall Street remained positive about the Federal Reserve's plan to trim its balance sheet, while tech stocks climbed.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 83.16 points to 21,095.58, with Home Depot contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 spiked 10.21 points to 2,414.60, rising above its previous record of 2,405.77. Information technology was among the best-performing sectors, rising 0.2%. Tech has been on a tear this year, rising more than 19%.
The NASDAQ rumbled higher 35.46 points to 6,198.48, climbing over 6,170.16, as Netflix, Alphabet, and Facebook shares all rose.
According to the minutes from its May 3 meeting, which were released Wednesday, the Fed sees a system where it will announce cap limits on how much it will allow to roll off each month without reinvesting.
Investors also kept an eye on oil prices after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to extend production cuts by nine months. That disappointed some investors, who had hoped that OPEC might reduce output even further to drain a global glut that has depressed markets for almost three years.
In economic news, jobless claims hit 234,000 last week, rising slightly from the previous week, but remained near their lowest levels in more than 40 years.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note settled, lifting yields to 2.26% from Wednesday’s 2.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices faded 47 cents at $50.89 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $3.20 at $1,256.30 U.S. an ounce.
