Canada's main stock index jumped on Thursday as a rise in commodity prices lifted materials and energy stocks, while the markets remained optimistic about a pause in U.S. interest rate hikes despite hotter-than-expected economic data.
The TSX rocketed 208.28 points, or 1%, to move from Thursday morning into afternoon at 20,487.22.
The Canadian dollar regained 0.24 cents at 74.01 cents U.S.
Resource stocks led the charge in Thursday’s first hour, with Capstone Mining picking up 25 cents, or 4.3%, to $6.10, while MAG Silver climbed 96 cents, or 6.7%, to $15.33. In gold, Alamos Gold captured 22 cents, or 1.4%, to $16.48, while Kinross Gold triumphed 11 cents, or 1.6%, to $6.80.
Energy stocks prospered, too, with Tamarack Valley Energy increasing 16 cents, or 4.1%, to $4.06, while Meg Energy advanced 56 cents, or 2.1%, to $25.94.
Shares of Canopy Growth lost 26 cents, or 16.7% of its value, to face noon hour at $1.82, after the pot producer said it would seek bankruptcy protection for its sports nutrition products' segment BioSteel.
On the economic schedule, Statistics Canada said wholesale trade (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) grew 0.2% to $81.3 billion in July.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stayed above water 2.08 points to 584.98.
All 12 TSX subgroups were positive, with materials climbing 1.7%, real-estate better by 1.5%, and health-care haler by 1.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial average gained for the first day in three after August retail sales came in better than expected and another inflation reading was not as bad as feared.
The 30-stock index sprang up 261.14 points to break for lunch Thursday at 34,836.77.
The S&P 500 index gained 32.73 points to 4,500.17.
The NASDAQ index surged 111.44 points to 13,925.02.
Chip design company Arm started trading Thursday after its initial public offering was priced at $51 a share. Investors hope what’s set to be the biggest tech debut of the year could kickstart a sleepy tech IPO market.
Elsewhere, Adobe is expected to post quarterly results after the market close Thursday.
The August reading of the producer price index came in hotter than expected. It rose 0.7%, more than the 0.4% increase anticipated by economists polled by Dow Jones. However, excluding food and energy, core PPI increased 0.2%, in line with the estimate.
That comes after August’s consumer price index on Wednesday showed core CPI, which excludes food and energy, was slightly hotter than expected.
August retail sales came in better than expected, jumping 0.6% against a 0.1% increase expected by economists. Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.6% last month, more than the forecasted 0.4% increase.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dropped, raising yields to 4.28% from Wednesday’s 4.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added $1.42 to $89.94 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $4.70 to $1,927.80 U.S. an ounce.
