Stocks in Toronto rose sharply on Thursday, lifted by commodity shares, as oil and metal prices recovered from steep losses in the last two sessions.
The S&P/TSX had leaped 283.75 points, or 1.5%, to pause for lunch Thursday at 19,013.41.
The Canadian dollar heightened 0.32 cents to 77.02 cents U.S.
Among the energy leaders, Advantage Oil & Gas acquired 95 cents, or 12.4%, to $8.59, while Crescent Point Energy vaulted $1.09, or 13.1%, to $9.43.
The consumer discretionary stocks also shone, with Linamar surging $2.96, or 5.5%, to $56.48, while BRP Inc. took on $3.76, or 4.6%, to $84.81.
Tech stocks also strengthened, with HUT 8 Mining grabbing 18 cents, or 9.9%, to $1.99, while Magnet Forensics gained $1.07, or 6%, to $18.95.
Gold struck a sour note, however, as New Gold lost three cents, or 2.1%, to $1.42, while Barrick Gold gave up 16 cents to $22.29.
On the economic slate, Canada's merchandise exports rose 4.1% in May, a fifth consecutive monthly increase. Meanwhile, imports decreased 0.7%.
As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the world widened from $2.2 billion in April to $5.3 billion in May, the largest trade surplus since August 2008.
Elsewhere, the IVEY Purchasing Managers Index shrank to 62.2 in June, a far cry from May's 72, and far below the 71.9 figure in June 2021.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 9.48 points, or 1.6%, to 611.83.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were in a positive direction, with energy barreling 4.6% higher, while information technology and consumer discretionary stocks each climbed 1.8%.
Only gold was negative, and only 0.2% at that.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as Wall Street looked to extend a modest winning streak.
The Dow Jones Industrials spiked 281.26 points to 31,318.94.
The S&P 500 strengthened 48.72 points, or 1.3%, to 3,893.30. The S&P 500, which sits about 20% off its record high, is looking for its first four-day winning streak since late March.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 208.40 points, or 1.8%, to 11,570.25.
Energy stocks were leading the gains on Thursday, reversing some recent losses as oil prices rebounded. Chevron rose 2.5%, while Exxon jumped more than 3%.
Freeport-McMoRan gathered 6.6%, and Nucor rose 5%, as commodity stocks climbed.
Chipmakers were higher after South Korea’s Samsung posted an 11% jump in profit and 21% surge in revenue for the latest period on strong sales of memory chips. Shares of AMD surged 4% and Nvidia gained 3%.
Another notable mover was GameStop, which popped 10% after the video game retailer said a four-for-one stock split was approved by its board.
Solar stocks also outperformed, with Sunrun gaining 7%.
Meanwhile, Levi Strauss is set to report earnings Thursday after the bell. Many investors and strategists have pointed to the busy earnings calendar later this month as a key test for markets.
On the economic front, initial jobless claims and continuing claims both ticked up slightly last week. The U.S. trade deficit for May came in slightly higher than expected at $85.5 billion but was still down month over month.
The U.S. Labor Department’s official jobs report is due out on Friday.
Treasury prices dropped, bringing yields up to 3% from Wednesday’s 2.92%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $5.52 to $104.05 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained two dollars to $1,738.50 U.S. an ounce.
