Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon raised hopes of de-escalation in the broader U.S.-Iran conflict, while investors looked ahead to a key payrolls report on Friday.
The TSX Composite Index soared 377.09 points by noon EDT Thursday at 35,178.63.
The Canadian dollar eked back 0.04 cents to 71.93 cents U.S.
TransAlta said on Wednesday it will acquire two natural gas-fired peaking facilities near Denver from Blackstone for about $1 billion, strengthening its presence in the Western U.S. power market.
TransAlta shares skidded $2.05, or 10.2%, to $18.03.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada will extend steel tariff-rate quotas and tariff relief on certain U.S. steel and aluminum imports by one year on Wednesday, citing the need to shield workers from global excess capacity and give the industry longer-term certainty.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire, raising hopes for a de-escalation between Washington and Tehran, even as Iran struck Kuwait and U.S. forces hit near the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring continuing tensions in the months-long conflict.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange rebounded 12.68 points, or 1.3%, to 1,017.88.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, led by gold, ahead 2.2%, health-care climbed 2%, and materials, better by 1.8%.
The two laggards were telecoms, down 0.9%, and utilities, off 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied to a fresh record high on Thursday, while the NASDAQ Composite tumbled as investors appeared to rotate out of chip names in favor of non-tech stocks.
The 30-stock index made back Thursday all it had lost on Wednesday, piling on 838.49 points, or 1.7%, to 51,626.56.
The S&P 500 changed direction and hiked 9.66 points to 7,563.34.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ slipped 118.83 points to 26,732.14.
UnitedHealth led the Dow higher, rising 5.8%. JPMorgan Chase jumped 2.7% and Walmart hiked 1.4%, to add to the benchmark’s advance.
Non-tech names outside of the Dow such as Costco and Eli Lilly gained 2% and 4.5%, respectively.
The rotation was sparked by a selloff in Broadcom that led investors to pare exposure to stocks with ties to artificial intelligence. The chipmaker traded 15% lower after the it reported a fiscal second-quarter revenue miss.
Semiconductor names, which led the latest leg higher in the market’s rally to record levels, fell broadly. Arm Holdings shed 6%, and Micron Technology pulled back by 7.7%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.46% from Wednesday’s 4.49%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $2.94 to $93.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices charged ahead $34.80 to $4,501.70 U.S. an ounce.
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