TSX Doggedly Higher at Open

Stock indices in Toronto moved marginally higher on Thursday, led by materials and energy stocks.

The TSX Composite Index gained 11.65 points to open Thursday at 16,969.64

The Canadian dollar slid 0.07 cents to 75.39 cents U.S.

Canopy Growth reported a bigger quarterly loss on Thursday, as the Canadian pot producer was hit by restructuring charges. Canopy retreated $3.27, or 13.4%, to $21.28.

CIBC raised the price target on CAE to $38.00 from $37.00. CAE shares gained 33 cents to $35.99.

CIBC cut the rating on Mav Beauty Brands to neutral from outperform. Mav shares nicked ahead a penny to $3.04.

CIBC raised the price target on Loblaw Companies to $80.00 from $77.00. Loblaw shares cleared breakeven by three cent to $70.89.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada’s new housing price index was up 0.2% nationally in September—the largest increase in two years.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.86 points at 528.77

All but three of the 12 Toronto subgroups started the day in positive country, as gold climbed 0.9%, energy gushed 0.8%, and materials improved 0.7%.

The three laggards were health-care, sinking 3.8%, while communications and consumer staples each dipped 0.1%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks were little changed on Thursday as a move to record highs took a pause amid persisting worries around U.S-China trade relations.

The Dow Jones Industrials tailed off 1.51 points to 27,782.08.

The S&P 500 inched forward 2.06 points to 3,096.01. Both the Dow and S&P 500 notched record closing highs on Wednesday.

The NASDAQ slumped 6.95 points to 8,475.15

A 6.3% decline in Cisco Systems offset gains from Walmart. In the S&P 500, the tech sector pulled back 0.4%.

In corporate news, Walmart reported quarterly earnings that beat analyst expectations, sending its stock up more than 3%. Cisco, meanwhile, issued weak revenue guidance for its fiscal second quarter, overshadowing stronger-than-forecast quarterly results.

Nvidia, Applied Materials and Aurora Cannabis are poised to release their latest quarterly figures after market close.

On the data front, weekly jobless claims reached 225,000 last week, topping a Dow Jones estimate of 215,000. Meanwhile, U.S. producer prices had their biggest gain in six months in October.

Talks between the U.S. and China are thought to have hit a snag over agricultural purchases. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Beijing is resisting requests from the White House to curb tech transfers as well as enforcement mechanisms. China is also reportedly wary about committing to specific farm purchases from the U.S.

At around 10 a.m. ET, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify before the House Budget Committee on the economic outlook.

Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury gained sharply, lowering yields to 1.83% from Wednesday’s 1.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions

Oil prices improved 41 cents to $57.53 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices $4.10 to $1,467.40 U.S. an ounce.