Equities in Canada’s largest market enjoyed solid, if unspectacular, gains by the closing bell on Thursday, powered largely by gold and industrial stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 35.84 points to end Thursday at 15,818
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.09 cents to 80.13 cents U.S.
Gold stocks were chief among gaining subgroups, what with Goldcorp climbing 16 cents, or 1%, to $16.54, and Kinross Gold acquiring nine cents, or 1.7%, to $5.38.
Industrials were stronger, with Bombardier moving upward four cents, or 1.5%, to $2.76, while Air Canada made its way skyward 12 cents to $26.67.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, were in the green, with Wheaton Precious Metals Corp climbing 86 cents, or 3.4%, to $25.79 and Teck Resources progressing 19 cents to $27.80.
Rogers Communications was among the biggest drags on the index, sliding 80 cents, or 1.2%, to $66.05 as it signed up fewer internet customers than expected. The decline also comes after shares have rallied more than 6% over the last three weeks. TELUS shares doffed nine cents to $44.95.
The energy group retreated as the price of oil fell, with Encana Corp down 31 cents, or 2.1%, to $14.39. Pembina Pipeline also fell short, down 13 cents to $41.58
In the consumer discretionary sector, Magna International moved downward 32 cents to $68.27, while Linamar Corp. tumbled 71 cents to $79.00
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his finance minister on Wednesday amid criticism that Bill Morneau did not place his assets in a blind trust, moving to dampen a growing controversy that threatens to overshadow the government's agenda.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada came out with employment insurance figures for August, and revealed that the number of beneficiaries decreased by 9,600, or 1.8%, to 524,200 in August, continuing a downward trend that began last October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 2.62 points to 782.07
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were up on the session, with gold better by 0.6%, industrials ahead 0.5%, and materials up 0.4%.
The five laggards were weighed most by telecoms, down 0.5%, while energy and consumer discretionaries each off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrial average eked out a record close on Thursday, erasing sharp losses, as Wall Street bet on further gains from corporate earnings.
The Dow inched higher 5.44 points from Wednesday’s all-time record to 23,163.04, while Travelers rose 2.4% and was the biggest contributor to the gains on the Dow. Travelers reported earnings per share that easily beat expectations.
The blue chips had fallen 104.93 points at its session lows. Tech giant Apple saw its stock decline 2.5% amid speculation of poor demand and cuts in production of iPhone 8. The stock was also posted its biggest one-day decline since Aug. 10.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.84 points to manage a record close at 2,562.10, as a 12.2% gain in Adobe shares offset steep losses from United Continental. The airline's stock fell 12.1%
The Dow and the S&P 500 rose slightly into the close after one media source reported that President Donald Trump was leaning toward Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell to be the next head of the central bank.
The NASDAQ subtracted 19.15 points – off its lows of the day -- to 6,605.07. Facebook, Google-parent Alphabet, Netflix and Amazon all finished lower.
Wall Street also continued to digest corporate earnings reports.
EBay reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue along with earnings per share that met expectations. However, the company reported mixed guidance for the fourth quarter, sending the stock down 1.8%.
Philip Morris also reported quarterly earnings, but fell short of expectations; its stock dropped 3.8%.
Thursday also marked the 30th anniversary of "Black Monday," the worst day in U.S. stock-market history. On that day, the S&P 500 plunged 20.5% and the Dow dropped 22.6%.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note revived, lowering yields to 2.32% from Wednesday’s 2.34%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded 64 cents a barrel to $51.40 U.S.
Gold prices regained $7.30 an ounce to $1,290.30 U.S.
