Canada's main stock index recovered by noon from triple-digit losses at on Thursday’s opening bell, on the strength of tech shares, after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed 25% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, fanning worries of a trade war.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index found its way out of its cave, where it had lost more than 100 points to start Thursday’s session, actually eking out a gain of 1.87 points to 16,378.64
The Canadian dollar was still lower 0.04 cents at 76.89 cents U.S.
In financials, Royal Bank of Canada subtracted 39 cents to $101.42, and Toronto-Dominion Bank sank 28 cents to $76.88.
The biggest lags on the energy index were Suncor Energy, which fell 60 cents, or 1.1%, to $53.69, and Canadian Natural Resources, which dropped 72 cents, or 1.5%, to $46.70.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners, as well as fertilizer companies, was boosted by fertilizer and farm supply dealer Nutrien Ltd., which rose $3.54, or 5%, to $74.54, as higher prices for potash and nitrogen fertilizers helped deliver a better-than-expected quarterly profit.
Shares of Bombardier rose 24 cents, or 5.1% to $4.99. The plane and train maker's pace of cash burn was well below expectations in the second quarter, putting it firmly on track to break even on cash flow this year.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Gildan Activewear, which jumped $6.32, or 18.7%, to $40.12, after the apparel maker lifted its full-year sales and profit forecast.
The second-biggest gainer on the index was Spin Master Corp, which rose $3.05, or 5.8%, to $55.98 after results.
Ivanhoe Mines fell six cents, or 2.4%, to $2.44, the most on the TSX. The second-biggest decliner was Cott Corp, down 37 cents, or 1.8%, to $20.29, after posting second-quarter results.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 1.1 points to 699.93
Eight of the 12 subgroups remained negative midday, with telecoms and financials each down 0.5%, and utilities slipping 0.4%.
The four gainers were led by a 1.6% surge in information technology issues, while materials strengthened 0.9%, and industrials climbed 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ Composite and S&P 500 rose on Thursday as shares of Apple reached a milestone.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered from its lows of the morning, but stayed negative 67.31 points to 25,266.51, as trade worries intensified once again after the Trump administration threatened to slap bigger tariffs on China. The 30-stock index dropped 95 points, with
Boeing and DowDuPont lagging.
The S&P 500 recovered 5.96 points to 2,819.35
The NASDAQ surged 57.29 points to 7,764.58. The gains were led by Apple, which rose as much as 2.75% pushing its market cap to $1 trillion. Apple is the first U.S. publicly traded company to reach $1 trillion in market value.
Apple's stock has been on a tear since the stock reported stronger-than-forecast quarterly results earlier this week. Since then, the stock is up more than 8%.
Shares of big exporter Caterpillar dipped 0.4%, and Boeing fell 1.1%.
More than 70% of S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly results through Thursday morning, with 78% reporting better-than-expected profits
The U.S. administration announced on Wednesday that President Donald Trump asked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to consider increasing the proposed levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods up to 25%, from 10%.
Earnings season continued on Thursday with DowDuPont and Aetna reporting better-than-expected quarterly results. Aetna's shares were flat, but DowDuPont's stock fell more than 2%.
Tesla shares surged more than 9% after CEO Elon Musk said the company would be profitable in the second half. However, Tesla posted a wider-than-expected loss for the previous quarter.
More than 70% of S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly results through Thursday morning, with 78% reporting better-than-expected profits.
The U.S. Labor Department said weekly jobless claims rose to 218,000. Economists polled by Reuters expected an increase to 220,000. The report comes after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, but upgraded its outlook on the U.S. economy to strong. It also comes ahead of the department's monthly jobs reports, scheduled for release Friday.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury inched up, lowering yields to 2.99% from Wednesday’s 3%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices were up $1.24 to $68.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid five dollars to $1,222.60 U.S. an ounce.
