Stocks in Canada’s largest centre opened higher, lifted by gains in global stocks and oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 28.52 points to start trading Thursday at 15,682.13
The Canadian dollar was down 0.41 cents at 76.79 cents U.S.
Magna International said on Wednesday it will invest $200 million in Lyft, and to work with the U.S. ride-hailing firm to manufacture self-driving cars.
Magna ballooned $3.21, or 4.7%, to $72.20.
TD Securities cuts the target price on Stella-Jones to $53.00 from $54.00. Stella-Jones gained $1.61, or 3.6%, to $46.00
Raymond James raised the target price on Rocky Mountain Dealerships to $15.00 from $14.50. Rocky Mountain shares picked up five cents to $12.63.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that he was "very optimistic" of a successful result for his country, the United States and Mexico as they renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Economically speaking, statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association show national home sales declined by 6.5% from January to February. Actual (not seasonally-adjusted) activity was down 16.9% year-over-year in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked up 1.9 points to 829.18
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups progressed, led by consumer discretionary stocks, up 1.3%, energy, ahead 0.6%, and information technology, up 0.5%
The four laggards were co-weighed by gold and materials, each down 0.4%, while health-care ailed 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks struggled to maintain their gains on Thursday as investors remained on edge amid lingering trade tensions.
The Dow Jones Industrials reclaimed 71.44 points to 24,829.56, after rising more than 100 points at the open.
The S&P 500 recouped two points to 2,751.48, though techs slid 0.2%.
The NASDAQ composite Index dropped 3.63 points to 7,493.18
Golden Entertainment Inc. is among a spate of companies reporting earnings today. Its stock began Thursday up 71 cents, or 2.5%, to $29.43.
The White House is thinking about implementing tariffs on at least $30 billion of Chinese imports as part of a package of anti-China measures, the Wall Street Journal reported. Reuters also reported Tuesday that President Donald Trump may impose tariffs on $60 billion of Chinese goods.
Investors worry that other countries could retaliate by implementing their own tariffs on U.S.-made goods and sparking a trade war. This would hurt companies who do business overseas, especially large multinationals like Boeing.
In economic news, weekly jobless claims dropped by 4,000 to 226,000, in line with expectations. At 10 a.m. ET the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index is slated to come out, followed by Treasury International Capital (TIC) data at 4 p.m. ET.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note inched forward, lowering yields to 2.81% from Wednesday’s 2.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved forward 31 cents a barrel to $61.27 U.S.
Gold prices backed off $7.70 to $1,317.9 U.S. an ounce.
