Stock markets in Toronto were flat at the open on Thursday as a second wave of coronavirus infections dented optimism around an economic revival, while the government's pledge to boost public spending had little effect on investor sentiment.
The TSX began Thursday up but 6.14 points to 15,823.25.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.47 cents to 74.73 cents U.S.
BlackBerry reported a near 6% rise in quarterly revenue, as demand for its security software suite, Spark, and its QNX car software rose.
The company once known as Research in Motion acquired 44 cents, or 6.8%, to $6.87.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported the Survey of Employment, Payrolls, and Hours as payroll employment, rose by 739,700, or 5.1%, in July.
The agency also said this figure followed an increase of 665,500 (or 4.9%) in June, and brought the total payroll employment change since February to a decrease of 1.9 million (or 11.3%).
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange resumed its downward plunge, saying goodbye to 9.65 points, or 1.4%, to 667.39.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, with materials heading higher 0.7%, information technology up 0.3%, and consumer staples inching ahead 0.2%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by health-care, skidding 1.8%, energy, 0.7% less energetic, and communications, clicking 0.4% lower.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock indexes increased tentatively Thursday morning as investors parsed weekly data on jobless claims, pushing the S&P 500 into correction territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered 19.84 points to start the day at 26,782.97.
The S&P 500 acquired 11.35 points to 3,248.27.
The NASDAQ moved forward 64.11 points to 10,697.10.
Shares of Penn National Gaming fell $1.23, or 1.8% in early trade to $67.76 after announcing it would launch a public offering of 14 million shares.
Accenture PLC shares dropped $12.98, or 5.6%, to $217.93, after the professional services and consulting company reported revenue and earnings that fell short of expectations.
Stocks were under pressure on Thursday, as investors waded through a morass of issues, including gridlock on Capitol Hill, which has sapped prospects for another spending bill. Market participants have long feared that a lack of fresh stimulus would derail an economic rebound.
The weekly report in claims highlights that job creation in the aftermath of the pandemic is stalling out, raising further fears about the shape of the U.S.’s return to normalcy.
Jobless claims rose 4,000 to 870,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday, reflecting that slightly more Americans applied for state unemployment benefits in the week ended Sept. 19 than in the prior week.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were lower, driving yields up to 0.68% from Wednesday’s 0.68%, Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices squeezed ahead two cents to $39.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $3.20 to $1,865.20 U.S. an ounce.
