Equities in Canada’s largest centre endured something of a rollercoaster, before settling just above the breakeven point Thursday, pulled higher by energy issues.
The S&P/TSX Composite captured 33.08 points to conclude Thursday at 21,072.74.
The Canadian dollar grabbed up 0.20 cents to 78.58 cents U.S.
Energy issues powered ahead, with Vermilion Energy up $1.55, or 9.7%, to $17.57, while Parex Resources hiked $1.40, or 6.2%, to $23.85.
Among consumer staples, Saputo climbed 85 cents, or 3%, to $29.43, while Empire Company picked up 95 cents, or 2.5%, to $38.99.
In industrials, Altagas hiked $1.16, or 2.3%, to $51.25, while Finning International gained 60 cents, or 1.9%, to $32.34.
Gold stocks took their punishment on the day, however, with Equinox Gold down 43 cents, or 5%, to $8.13, while Kinross Gold fell off 30 cents, or 4.2%, to $6.85.
In health-care, Well Health docked 15 cents, or 3.1%, to $4.62, while Tilray fell 24 cents, or 2.8%, to $8.23.
In tech stocks, HUT 8 Mining lost 30 cents, or 3.3%, to $8.72, while TECSYS took a tumble of $3.17, or 6.6%, to $45.19.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada said total exports increased 3.8%, while imports rose 2.4%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus widened from $2.3 billion in October to $3.1 billion in November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 13.02 points, or 1.4%, to 911.41.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split on the day, led by a 3.2% surge in energy concerns, while consumer staples rose 1.2%, and industrials were stronger 0.7%.
The half-dozen laggards were gold, down 3.3%, health-care, sliding 1.2%, and information technology, off 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Thursday to end a day of choppy trading that following the massive tech selloff in the previous session.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 170.64 points to 36,236.47.
The S&P 500 index folded 4.53 points to 4,686.05.
The NASDAQ docked 19.31 points at 15,080.87. The NASDAQ fell about 4% over the previous two trading sessions.
Several tech stocks continued their slide, as investors rotated out of high valuation names. Tesla and Netflix fell more than 2% each. In megacap tech, Apple lost 1.6%. Amazon fell 0.6%, and Alphabet dipped less than 0.1%. Meta Platforms gained 2.5%, however.
Regional banks Fifth Third and Regions rose more than 4%. Shares of Citi rose 3.2%, and Wells Fargo and Bank of America both added more than 2%.
Energy shares helped boost the market as crude prices rose. Diamondback Energy climbed 4.6%, Devon Energy added 3.7%, and Occidental gained nearly 3%.
Elsewhere Thursday, shares of Allbirds soared by 12.2% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the shoe brand, whose stock has struggled since it went public in November.
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance reversed earlier gains from a strong earnings report and closed down 2.8%. Meanwhile, Bed Bath & Beyond shares soared 7.9% even after the company reported a loss for its fiscal third quarter.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance ticked up to 207,000 for the week ending Jan.1, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect claims would total 195,000. The all-important non-farm payroll numbers are due for release Friday.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys eased back, raising yields to 1.73% from Wednesday’s 1.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.63 to $79.48 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices plunged $37.30 to $1,787.90 U.S. an ounce.
