Stocks in Canada’s biggest centre treaded water on Thursday, as gains in material stocks were offset by a tumble in energy shares, while rising coronavirus cases around the world kept sentiment in check
The TSX inched up 5.06 points to open Thursday at 16,779.20.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.46 cents to 76.11 cents U.S.
Manulife Financial on Wednesday said third-quarter core profit declined less than analysts had expected, helped by earnings growth in Asia and asset management, but it warned the COVID-19 pandemic posed risks.
CIBC raised the target price Boyd Group Services to $239.00 from $233.00
Canaccord Genuity cut the rating on Great Canadian Gaming to hold from buy.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on Acuityads Holdings to $7.50 from $6.00.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange took on 3.89 points to 732.14.
Six of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher in the first hour of trading, as gold surged 1.7%, while materials strengthened 1.6%, and consumer staples added 0.9%.
The five laggards were weighed most by health-care, sliding 1.7%, energy, down 1.6%, and real-estate, off 0.1%.
Financials were unchanged at Thursday’s open.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 opened lower on Thursday as markets continued to churn following big gains earlier in the week.
The 30-stock index slid 139.87 points to 29,257.76.
The S&P 500 fell 12.15 points to 3,560.51
The NASDAQ gained 41.99 points, to 11,828.42.
Airline and cruise-operator stocks fell broadly. United Airlines and Delta were down 1.5% each. American Airlines dipped 0.8% and Southwest pulled back by 2.6%. Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival dipped more than 3% each and Royal Caribbean slipped 4%.
More positive news on the vaccine front could come soon, as Moderna announced on Wednesday evening that its phase-three trial had accrued enough cases of the coronavirus to submit the preliminary results to an independent safety monitoring board.
The positive news for vaccines comes amid a worrying rise in Covid-19 cases across the country. The United States has now confirmed more than 10 million cases of the virus and some areas, including New York City and San Francisco, have announced new economic restrictions in an attempt to slow the spread.
On the data front, the U.S. Labor Department reported initial weekly jobless claims fell last week to 709,000 from 757,000 in the prior week. That marked the fourth straight weekly decline for initial claims.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 0.92% from Tuesday’s 0.96%. The bond markets were closed Wednesday for Veteran’s Day. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices jumped 37 cents to $41.82 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices improved $13.80 to $1,875.40
