Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday, led by energy shares as crude prices soared after U.S. President Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to reach a deal soon to end the price war.
The TSX Composite Index leaped 224.75 points, or 1.7%, to greet noon Thursday at 13,100.62.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were shares of oil and gas companies MEG Energy, which jumped 54 cents, or 34.4%, to $2.11, followed by shares in Cenovus Energy, which rose 46 cents, or 16.7%, to $3.18.
Shopify fell $52.20, or 9.6%, the most on the TSX, to $494.01, after the e-commerce company withdrew its forecast for 2020 due to uncertainty caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada told investors this country’s merchandise exports rose 0.5% in February, while imports were down 0.8%.
As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $1.7 billion in January to $983 million in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange surfaced 6.25 points, or 1.6%, to 387.38.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher to start the day, with energy gushing 13%, gold, shining 5.6 %, and materials up 4.8%.
The four laggards were information technology, down 3%, and consumer staples, off 1.1%, and consumer discretionary stocks, down 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose in volatile trading Thursday as oil prices jumped on expectations Saudi Arabia and Russia will ease the pressure off the oil market.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered from early losses to vault 329.20 points, or 1.6%, to enter noon hour 21,272.71.
The broader S&P 500 regained 42.99 points, or 1.7%, to 2,513.49.
The NASDAQ Composite screamed higher 110.37 points, or 1.5%, to 7,470.22.
WTI crude surged 24% to trade back above $25 a barrel on Thursday after President Donald Trump told the media he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, adding he expects both countries to cut production by about 10 million barrels.
Chevron and Exxon Mobil were the best-performing Dow stocks, Chevon rising 11.9% and Exxon picking up 9.7%.
The S&P 500 was led by an 11.4% rally in the energy sector. Stocks struggled earlier in the session as investors pored through grim unemployment data.
The U.S. Labor Department reported more than six million people filed for unemployment benefits in the week of March 27, a record.
Economists expected another five million to five million workers filed for jobless claims last week as coronavirus-related shutdowns roll through the country. The estimates ranged as high as nine million.
Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren said Wednesday that Congress likely will have to deliver more stimulus to help those at the lower end of the economic spectrum and to boost small business.
Unemployment is likely to “rise pretty dramatically over the next couple of months” and the economic damage won’t abate until the coronavirus is brought under control, he said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also said Wednesday the state’s model projects a high death rate through July.
More than 950,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed globally, with over 216,000 in the U.S. alone, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury enjoyed slight gains, lowering yields to 0.60% from Wednesday’s 0.61%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $4.48 to $24.79 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $38.60 to $1,630 U.S. an ounce.
