Markets in Toronto fought their way into the green by the closing bell on Thursday, as investors pondered house prices in this country and data from China.
The S&P/TSX Composite recovered from triple-digit losses early in the session to notch gains of 24.74 points to finish Thursday’s trading at 14,643.71
The Canadian dollar regained 0.42 cents to 75.74 cents U.S.
Gold stocks lit the way Thursday as Goldcorp jumped 35 cents, or 1.8%, to $19.39, while Barrick Gold picked up 13 cents to $21.25.
Energy stocks also kept their heads above water, as EnCana Corporation hiked 18 cents, or 1.2%, to $14.75, while Baytex Energy gathered seven cents, or 1.3%, to $5.64.
Real estate issues did well, too, as Brookfield Asset Management jumped 26 cents to $47.36.
Among consumer discretionary concerns, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers dumped 50 cents, or 1.1%, to $46.88.
In the tech world, BlackBerry sank 20 cents, or 2%, to $9.86, while Constellation Software dipped $3.24 to $586.75.
Among health-care stocks, Concordia International lurched lower 32 cents, or 5.6%, to $5.35, while Valeant Pharmaceuticals dipped three cents to $30.06.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that its new housing price index rose 0.2% in August from July.
The agency also says, while prices were up in eight census metropolitan areas, the increase was largely attributable to new housing prices in the combined region of Toronto and Oshawa.
ON BAY STREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained a solid 6.95 points to 777.50
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher on the day, as gold shone 1.5% brighter, while energy and real-estate each churned 0.5% higher
The four laggards were weighed most by consumer discretionaries, down 0.9%, information technology, off 0.8%, and health-care, retreating 0.7%.
ON WALL STREET
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, but closed well off session lows, as investors digested weak data out of China and rising oil prices while assessing the possibility of a Federal Reserve rate hike.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off deep lows of the day, clawing to within 45.26 points of breakeven to 18,098.94, with DuPont leading decliners and Wal-Mart the top advancer. The index briefly broke below the 18,000 mark and hit its lowest level since July.
The S&P 500 fell 6.63 points to 2,132.55, with financials leading nine sectors lower and utilities and real estate the only risers.
The NASDAQ Composite retreated 25.69 points to 5,213.33
Investors also kept an eye on quarterly corporate reports from U.S. firms, as earnings season begins to ramp up. Before the bell, Delta Air Lines reported mixed quarterly results, missing estimates on the top line while beating on the bottom.
On Friday, financial giants JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will be reporting earnings. Wells Fargo announced Wednesday afternoon that John Stumpf would leave his post of CEO immediately, following Wells' cross-selling scandal.
In U.S. economic news, weekly jobless claims held at a 43-year low, while import prices rose less than expected in September.
Overseas, China exports tumbled 10% last month in dollar terms, while imports fell 1.9%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury strengthened, lowering yields to 1.75% from Wednesday’s 1.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 26 cents to $50.44 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices sailed $5.90 higher to $1,259.70 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
