Equity markets in Toronto opened higher on Thursday, boosted by the financial sector and shares of TransCanada Corp, which reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index continued its upward trek, taking on 48.24 points to begin Thursday at 15,376.51
The Canadian dollar docked 0.10 cents to 80.01 cents U.S.
TransCanada, for its part, saw its shares respond to the good news by jumping $1.96, or 3.7%, to $55.60.
Bombardier on Thursday beat quarterly profit estimates, driven by an improvement in both sales and margins in its rail division.
The train and plane maker hiked 29 cents a share to $3.58.
Encana posted better-than-expected adjusted profit for the fourth quarter, helped by an increase in production and higher selling prices for oil.
Encana shares docked a penny to $14.00
Cenovus's fourth-quarter profit soared, as production nearly doubled and the Canadian company reined in expenses. Cenovus shares dipped nine cents to $9.79.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price Maple Leaf Foods to $39.00 from $38.00. Maple Leaf fell 20 cents to $34.47.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on Teck Resources to $42.50 from $41.00. Teck shares dropped 12 cents to $37.84.
RBC raised the target price on TMX Group to $81.00 from $80.00. The company which runs the Toronto Stock Exchange subtracted 22 cents a share to $75.14.
On matters economic, Statistics Canada reported that in December, 500,100 people received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, down 1.1% from November.
The agency adds the number of EI recipients has been on a downward trend since October 2016.
Also the Canadian Real Estate Association revealed national home sales via Canadian MLS® Systems dropped sharply in January after having climbed to the highest monthly level on record in December.
CREA said actual (not seasonally-adjusted) activity was down 2.4% from January 2017 and stood close the 10-year average for the month of January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.01 points to 837.18
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive to begin the day, as real estate built up 1.3% in strength, health-care was haler by 1.1%, while financials prospered 0.8%.
The four laggards were weighed most by gold, dulling 0.8%, energy flagged 0.5%, and materials dipped 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday as the major indexes tried to extend their winning streak to five days in a row. The move higher took place despite an interest-rate rise to multi-year highs that originally spooked investors.
The Dow Jones industrial average vaulted 152.39 points in the first hour to at 25,045.88. Boeing and Goldman Sachs were the biggest contributors of gains to the 30-stock index.
The S&P 500 added 35.69 points, or 1.3%, to 2,698.63, with financials as the best-performing sector.
The NASDAQ leaped 130.1 points, or 1.9%, to 7,143.62
In corporate news, Cisco Systems jumped 4.5% after reporting better-than-expected earnings. The company also posted its first year-over-year revenue increase in more than two years.
Sources told some media that Amazon is teaming up with Bank of America to provide loans to merchants. Amazon and Bank of America shares rose 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
Last Thursday, the indexes closed 10% below record highs set Jan. 26. One of the factors cited by investors and traders was a surge in interest rates to levels not seen in years.
On the data front Thursday, jobless claims increased by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 230,000, rebounding from a near 45-year low. The price producer index, meanwhile, rose 0.4% in January, in line with expectations.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note inched up, lowering yields to 2.90% from Wednesday’s 2.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped three cents a barrel to $60.57 U.S.
Gold prices retreated $2.90 to $1,355.10 U.S. an ounce.
