Canada's main stock index retained early gains by noon Thursday, as strength in resource and consumer stocks overrode weakness in technology and health-care stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index regained 48.22 to commence Thursday at 21,980.40.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.22 cents to 79.84 cents U.S.
The technology sector fell with e-commerce company Shopify down $12.05, or 1.4%, to $872.33.
Among health-care stocks, Aurora Cannabis down a penny at $4.57, Canopy Growth off five cents to $8.86, while Cronos Group moved higher two cents to $4.60.
Brookfield Asset Management and fund manager Morrison & Co entered an exclusivity deed with Uniti Group on Thursday, after a Macquarie-led consortium offered A$5 per share ($3.73 U.S.) for the Australian telecom firm.
Shares in Brookfield grasped $1.03, or 1.5%, midday to $$70.74.
Saskatchewan on Wednesday forecast a deficit of a $463 million in the 2022-23 fiscal year, less than a fifth of last year's $2.6-billion deficit, as stronger oil and potash prices bring in more revenue.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 9.32 points, or 1.1%, to 885.52.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher in the first hour, with energy picking up 0.4%, materials surging 0.3%, and financials nosing up 0.1%.
The five laggards were weighed most by information technology, sliding 0.9%, health-care , ailing 0.6%, and real-estate, off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks bounced Thursday as investors tried to recover from declines in Wednesday’s session.
The Dow Jones Industrials took flight 254.44 points to 34,612.94.
The S&P 500 progressed 44.25 points, or 1%, to 4,500.49
The NASDAQ Composite hurtled higher 153.81 points, or 1.1%, to 14,076.41.
Stocks have seesawed this week, alternating between up and down days. The Dow is less than 1% lower on the week, while the S&P 500 is marginally higher and the NASDAQ Composite is up more than 1%.
Chip stocks climbed Thursday, with shares such as Nvidia among the favorites of traders to buy in market upswings. These chip companies also stand to benefit in a continuing global economic recovery from the pandemic. Nvidia jumped more than 8%, Intel added 5.1% and AMD rose 5%.
Materials was the top-performing S&P 500 sector. Nucor, Mosaic and Freeport-McMoRan each added more than 3%.
Uber rose more than 4% after the company announced a deal to list all New York City taxis on its app.
Investors are continuing to monitor the war in Ukraine and weigh the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes amid persistent inflation.
NATO leaders met in Brussels Thursday to discuss increasing pressure on Russia, as Ukraine appears to be retaking ground in the war.
On the data front, initial jobless claims last week totaled 187,000, the lowest level since 1969, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Treasury prices sagged, raising yields to 2.34% from Wednesday’s 2.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded $2.52 to $112.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $26.40 to $1,963.70 U.S. an ounce.
Stocks Continue Bounce by Noon
