Equity markets hung on barely to gains Thursday, lifted by strength in consumer discretionary stocks, with Magna International leading the charge after announcing a partnership with U.S. ride-hailing company Lyft Inc.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 17.01 points to close Thursday at 15,670.62
The Canadian dollar was down 0.59 cents at 76.6 cents U.S.
Magna was the biggest gainer on the index, up $4.80, or 7%, to $73.79, a two-week high, after the auto parts maker said on Wednesday it would invest $200 million in Lyft and work with the U.S. company to manufacture self-driving cars.
Elsewhere, Canadian Tire added $1.73, or 1%, to $172.86.
Tech stocks traveled, too, as BlackBerry shone brighter by 69 cents, or 4.2%, to $17.27, with Destiny Media Technologies climbing 1.4% to 36 cents.
Telecom rumbled higher, too, as BCE gathered four cents to $56.34, while Shaw Communications picked up 54 cents, or 2.2%, to $24.88.
In the gold patch, Chesapeake Gold subsided five cents, or 1.7%, to $2.90, while Barrick Gold dropped six cents to $15.93.
Klondex Mines proved a major decliner, losing 22 cents, or 11.2%, to $1.75. Also taking some bruises, Ivanhoe Mines, plummeting 43 cents, or 13.1%, to $2.86.
Copper futures lost 1.3% to $6,900 U.S. a tonne.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that he was "very optimistic" of a successful result for his country, the United States and Mexico as they renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Economically speaking, statistics released Thursday by The Canadian Real Estate Association show national home sales declined by 6.5% from January to February. Actual (not seasonally-adjusted) activity was down 16.9% year-over-year in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked up 0.8 points to 828.08
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups moved higher, led by consumer discretionary stocks, up 2.1%, information technology, up 0.9%, and telecoms, up 0.4%.
The four laggards were weighed by gold down 0.4%, materials, down 0.2%, and real-estate, skidding 0.1%
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrial average rose on Thursday, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite closed lower as investors assessed the possibility of a trade war.
The 30-stock blue-chip index came off its highs of the day but still gained 115.54 points to 24,873.66, with UnitedHealth contributing the most to the gains. Earlier in the session, the Dow rose nearly 300 points. Boeing, which has struggled throughout the week, fell 0.1% in choppy trade Thursday.
The S&P 500 fell 2.15 points to 2,747.33, with losses in materials offsetting a 0.3% gain in industrials.
The NASDAQ composite Index dropped 15.07 points to 7,481.74
In corporate news, Williams-Sonoma reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the previous quarter. The company's stock rose 2.5% on the back of the news.
Wal-Mart, meanwhile, slipped 0.2% amid reports that a former executive is suing the company, alleging unlawful conduct in its e-commerce business.
The White House is thinking about implementing tariffs on at least $30 billion of Chinese imports as part of a package of anti-China measures, the Wall Street Journal reported. Media also reported Tuesday that President Donald Trump may impose tariffs on $60 billion of Chinese goods.
Investors worry that other countries could retaliate by implementing their own tariffs on U.S.-made goods and sparking a trade war. This would hurt companies who do business overseas, especially large multinationals like Boeing.
Stocks were also pressured Thursday after The New York Times reported that special counsel Robert Mueller subpoenaed Trump's businesses and the Trump Organization "in recent weeks."
In economic news, weekly jobless claims dropped by 4,000 to 226,000, in line with expectations.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell back, raising yields to Wednesday’s 2.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved forward 26 cents a barrel to $61.22 U.S.
Gold prices backed off $9.10 to $1,316.50 U.S. an ounce.
