Canada's main stock index moved higher in choppy trading on Thursday as losses in materials and mining stocks were offset by gains in heavyweight financials and consumer staples, with investors focused on new developments in the Middle East and a high-stakes U.S.-China summit.
The TSX Composite Index changed direction by noon and gained 214.08 points Thursday to 34,255.51
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.11 cents to 72.85 cents U.S.
Financials gained, with Brookfield rising $4.57, or 7.4%, to $66.51, after the investment firm reported higher first-quarter revenue.
Manulife Financial dropped $3.60, or 6.4%, to $51.13, after the insurer missed first-quarter profit estimates.
Materials slipped, with silver miners including Vizsla Silver slipping 28 cents, or 5.3%, to $5.02, and Endeavour Silver down 71 cents to $90.22.
Canada Goose dipped 13 cents to $14.49 after the luxury apparel maker topped fourth-quarter revenue estimates, while Sangoma Technologies dropped 63 cents, or 11.2% to $4.99, after the communications firm reported a bigger third-quarter loss.
Keyera posted a first-quarter loss. Its shares reached noon up $1.52, or 2.9%, to $54.54.
Canadian Tire reported Q1 adjusted profit above market expectations. Canadian Tire shares dived $3.79, or 2.1%, to $178.60.
Sherritt International said its first quarter financial filing could be delayed after its external auditor resigned and finance chief left, which could trigger a halt in its Canada shares trading.
Sherritt shares withered three cents, or 22.4%, to 11 cents.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to ask China for help in ending the unpopular war in Iran, with peace talks between Tehran and Washington deadlocked
Iran's foreign minister urged BRICS nations to condemn U.S. and Israel actions as "violations of international law"
On the economic schedule, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported the number of home sales recorded over Canadian MLS Systems was up 0.7% on a month-over-month basis in April.
Moreover, in March, 176,500 new motor vehicles were sold in Canada, decreasing 6.6% from March 2025. In dollar terms, sales decreased 3.6% in March 2026 compared with one year earlier.
Over the same period, the number of new passenger cars sold fell by 4.3%, while the number of new trucks sold saw a decline of 6.9%.
Wholesale trade for March rose 1.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dumped 2.79 points to 1,013.33.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green, as information technology hiked 2.1%, health-care gained 1.5%, and financials jumped 1.4%.
The two laggards were gold, slumbering 1.8%, and materials, off 1.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average retaking 50,000 after strong earnings from Cisco Systems and following a key meeting between U.S. and China.
The 30-stock index popped 427.52 points to break for lunch Thursday at 50,120.72.
The S&P 500 climbed 62.96 points to 7,507.21.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ rocketed 271.32 points, or 1%, to 26,673.67.
Shares of Cisco surged 14% after the software giant posted third-quarter results and guidance that beat Wall Street’s expectations and announced it would be cutting almost 4,000 jobs.
Cisco’s gain gave the Dow a boost, sending it to 50,000 during the session. The Dow also got a lift from Nvidia also advanced more than 4% after Reuters reported that the U.S. has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to purchase Nvidia’s H200 chip, though no deliveries have been made yet.
Cisco and Nvidia, as well as Amazon, have supported the Dow’s comeback — Cisco has soared 48% in the past two months, while Amazon and Nvidia has gained 28% and 30%, respectively. The run-up for the index comes even as the conflict in the Middle East persists, keeping inflationary fears among investors heightened as oil prices remain elevated.
Iran was a major topic of discussion during the summit between Trump and Xi Thursday, with the two sides agreeing that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open, per a White House official.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury strengthened slightly, dropping yields to 4.45% from Wednesday’s 4.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded 59 cents to $100.43 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $21.80 to $4,686.50 U.S. an ounce.
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