Canada’s main stock index opened marginally higher on Thursday, led by gains in materials as gold prices rose on fears of a global slowdown, spurred by weak economic data.
The TSX Composite Index fell 18.54 points to greet noon at 16,939.45
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 75.46 cents U.S.
The biggest drag on the index were health-care shares with Canopy Growth Corp slipping the most at $4.04, or 16.5%, to $20.41..
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Cineplex, up $1.47, or 6.4%, to $24.57, and Freehold Royalties, up 22 cents, or 3.3%, to $6.85
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 2.44 points at 528.15
The 12 Toronto subgroups were evenly split by noon hour, with health-care plunging 5.1%, energy weakening 0.5%, and consumer staples, off 0.2%.
The half-dozen gainers were co-led by gold and utilities, each up 1%, while materials marched 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell slightly 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 57.73 points to 27,725.86.
The S&P 500 dropped 5.41 points to 3,088.63. Both the Dow and S&P 500 notched record closing highs on Wednesday.
The NASDAQ slumped 26.86 points to 8,455.24
Equities have been on a tear lately amid renewed hope that both sides will strike some sort of trade deal. The Dow has gained 4.3%, and S&P 500 is up 3.7%, over the past month. The NASDAQ Composite is up more than 5% in that time.
Cisco Systems dropped 7.1% on disappointing guidance while Walmart dropped 0.9% after hitting an all-time high. In the S&P 500, the tech sector hesitated 0.5%, and health care 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.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified before the House Budget Committee on the economic outlook, saying: “There’s nothing that’s really booming that would want to bust. In other words, it’s a pretty sustainable picture.”
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury gained sharply, lowering yields to 1.81% from Wednesday’s 1.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gave back 12 cents to $57.00 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices tacked on $9.80 to $1,473.10 U.S. an ounce.
