Stocks cleared breakeven at Thursday’s open, as strength in consumer stocks overrode weakness in resources.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 22.75 points to open Thursday at 18,507.28.
The Canadian dollar advanced 0.16 cents to 80.09 cents U.S.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Thursday, as it put aside lower-than-expected funds for loan loss provisions and its capital markets segment performed well.
CIBC shares gained 29 cents to $118.13.
Lundin plans to begin operating its Argentine silver-gold-copper project Josemaria in 2026, after an investment of $ 3.09 billion, a company spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday.
Lundin shares lost 12 cents to $14.98.
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on Altus Group to $59.00 from $65.00. Altus shares popped $6.13, or 12.5%, to $55.22.
Scotiabank raises target price on Equitable Group to $146.00 from $136.00. Equitable faded $3.13, or 2.1%, to $137.59.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price Royal Bank of Canada to $123.00 from $117.00. RBC shares descended 24 cents to $111.64.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported Thursday average weekly earnings were $1,112 in December, little changed compared with November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange picked up 12.98 points, or 1.2%, to lead off Thursday at 1,073.41
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups started the day in the red, with gold down 0.4%, materials lower by 0.3%, and utilities off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as higher bond yields continued to put pressure on high-growth technology stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrials backtracked 117.66 points to begin Thursday at 31,844.20, from Wednesday’s all-time record close.
The S&P 500 slipped 28.94 points to 3,896.49.
The NASDAQ Composite slouched 143.87 points, or 1.1%, to 13,454.09, as Tesla, Alphabet and Microsoft all traded in the red.
GameStop, the controversial meme stock whose massive short squeeze shocked Wall Street last month, is on the rise again. Shares were up more than 30% in volatile trading after doubling in the previous session on the reported ousting of a chief executive.
Investors digested better-than-expected economic data out Thursday. First-time jobless claims totaled 730,000 for the week ended Feb. 20, versus a print of 845,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Meanwhile, durable goods orders increased by 3.4% in January, compared to a Dow Jones consensus of 1.0% growth.
Some traders looked past the moves in the bond market after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell emphasized the central bank’s commitment to easy policy and downplayed the risk of inflation, saying it could take three years or more before the Fed’s goals are reached.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys fell sharply, raising yields to 1.47% from Wednesday’s 1.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 21 cents to $63.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices stumbled $20.40 to $1,777.50
