Stocks in Toronto resumed their climb midday Thursday, led by gold shares and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International. Energy stocks, however, got bruised by declines in crude oil prices.
The S&P/TSX composite index remained positive 24.36 points to greet noon at 13,424.33
The Canadian dollar moved forward 0.21 cents at 75.38 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold Corp rose 3.3% to $9.95, and Goldcorp was up 2.2% at $16.17.
While gold futures picked up, copper prices also advanced 0.1% to $4,615 U.S. a tonne.
Valeant rallied 8% to $105.00, still far below its September peak of $300 as the company faces sharp scrutiny of its business practices.
Bombardier Inc rose 5.5% to $1.35 after it said Quebec’s major credit union, which manages the province’s public pension plans, would buy a 30% stake in its rail unit for $1.5 billion.
Among financials, Royal Bank of Canada progressed 0.4%, to $75.83.
Among energy plays, Canadian Natural Resources sank 1% to $32.78 while Suncor Energy Inc dipped 0.7% to $37.21.
Canadian Pacific Railway retreated 0.6% after rallying sharply on Wednesday, when it said its proposed $28.4-billion acquisition of U.S. railroad operator Norfolk Southern would help the combined company to save at least $1.8 billion annually.
Grocer Loblaw Cos Ltd fell 3.8% to $67.65.
On things economic, Statistics Canada reported this morning that those Canadians on regular employment insurance benefits hiked 1.1% in September to 543,800. On a year-over-year basis, the number of EI beneficiaries rose by 41,600 or 8.3%.
The agency also stated that wholesale sales subsided 0.1% to $55.2 billion in September. The agencies attributes the drop to declines in the motor vehicle and parts and the building material and supplies sub-sectors, only partially offset by higher sales in machinery, equipment and supplies, food, beverage and tobacco.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 0.65 points to 520.13.
Eight of the 13 TSX subgroups were still higher, with gold hiking 2.9%, materials up 1.4% and health-care better by 1.2%
The five laggards were weighed jointly by metals and mining and the energy group, each off 1.7%, while consumer staples suffered 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Equities in New York veered into negative territory, as investors pored over corporate news and sought further indications of support for a December rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 13.36 points to pause for noon hour at 17,723.80. UnitedHealth was the greatest weight on the Dow Jones industrial average, while IBM contributed the most to gains.
The S&P 500 subtracted 2.88 points to 2,080.70, off the back of health-care stocks, which, as a group, collapsed 1%.
The NASDAQ index gained 3.91 points to 5,079.11, as Apple tried to make it way higher
UnitedHealth slumbered more than 4% in morning trade after the health insurer cut its forecast for the year.
Traders also viewed Thursday’s initial public offerings on Square and Match.
Square spiked more than 50% in its trading debut after opening at $11.20 U.S. a share. The stock priced below the expected range at $9.00 U.S. a share.
Tinder parent Match jumped more than 10% in opening trade. The stock priced at the low end of the expected range at $12.00 per share.
Among issues reporting earnings, Best Buy beat estimates by six cents U.S. with adjusted profit of 41 cents per share, but its revenue was merely in line and its same store sales hike of 0.8% was only half of what analysts projected.
Economically speaking, initial jobless U.S. claims came in at 271,000, down 5,000 from the week before. The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing survey's diffusion index for current activity came in for November at 1.9, its first positive reading in three months.
U.S. October leading indicators rose 0.6%, slightly more than expected.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 2.23%, from Wednesday’s 2.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices declined 47 cents a barrel to $40.28 U.S.
Gold prices gained $12.27 to $1,083.00 U.S. an ounce.
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