Equities in Canada’s largest centre hit a two-month low as the losses in the country's top lenders after reporting a mixed bag of earnings overshadowed the gains in tech stocks that tracked a U.S. market rally.
The TSX opened Thursday lower by 114.31 points to 19,813.38.
The Canadian dollar weakened 0.22 cents to 73.36 cents U.S.
Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported a drop in second-quarter profit, as tough economic conditions spurred the lenders into setting aside more provisions for loan losses.
RBC shares dropped $2.67, or 2.2%, to $121.08. CIBC shares jumped $1.16, or 2.1%, to $56.80.
However, Toronto-Dominion Bank reported a rise in quarterly profit, as the lender benefited from robust growth in its personal and commercial banking business. Shares in TD sank $2.89, or 3.6%, to $78.29.
Credit Suisse turned bullish on Pembina Pipeline, and Scotiabank resumed coverage of Centerra Gold, with a "sector outperform" rating. Pembina shares advanced 23 cents to $41.87, while those for Centerra were unchanged at $6.95.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada says employees receiving pay or benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employees" -- was little changed in March (-9,900).
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 2.86 points to 603.21.
All but three of the TSX subgroups were lower mid-morning, with energy capsizing 1.6%, while gold and communications each gave back 1%
The three gainers were information technology, up 0.5%, consumer discretionary stocks, ahead 0.3%, and real-estate, eking up 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ jumped Thursday as investors cheered the latest quarterly results from Nvidia. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid after Fitch Ratings placed the United States’ AAA rating on a negative rating watch.
The Dow lost 49.26 points, to 32,750.66.
The S&P 500 regained 28.66 points to 4,143.90.
The NASDAQ recovered 180.03 points, or 1.5%, to 12,664.20.
Nvidia shares surged 26% after the artificial intelligence beneficiary gave stronger-than-expected revenue guidance for its fiscal second quarter, while also reporting beats on the top and bottom line in the previous quarter. Several analysts covering the stock hiked their price targets on the stock following the results.
Other semiconductor stocks followed Nvidia higher, including AMD and Taiwan Semiconductor, which rose around 9% each
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 3.77% from Wednesday’s 3.74%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices ducked $2.03 to $72.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were down $15.70 to $1,948.90 U.S. an ounce.
