Equities in Canada’s largest centre moved up Thursday, as health-care issues, tech and industrial stocks, each strengthened.
The S&P/TSX Composite moved higher 92.87 points to close the session at 14,826.09
The Canadian dollar headed south 0.41 cents at 74.01 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks proved the champions among gaining subgroups, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International shares shifted gears and climbed 27 cents, or 1.1%, to $24.30 after two former executives were arrested on charges related to an investigation into the drug maker's ties to a specialty pharmacy company.
Among tech issues, Great Canadian Gaming Corp fell $2.16, or 8.4%, to $23.49 after the company said an insider plans to sell a large stake.
Industrials also scored, as Bombardier Inc shares advanced five cents, or 126% to $1.96 after the plane and train maker moved to raise funds to refinance some debt.
The heavyweight financials group gained, with Royal Bank of Canada up 80 cents to $86.83, and Bank of Nova Scotia adding $1.02, or 1.4%, to $71.63.
Gold stocks faltered, with Goldcorp fading 36 cents, or 2%, to $18.09, while Barrick Gold lost 31 cents, or 1.5%, to $20.67.
Suncor Energy Inc rose 21 cents to $41.22 after it said it expected production to rise by more than 13% next year and spending to fall by more than $1 billion.
The overall energy group gave back earlier gains, as optimism faded over whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would be able to reach a deal to curb output later this month.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that foreign investment in Canadian securities amounted to $11.8 billion in September. New issues of bonds placed abroad by Canadian private corporations accounted for the bulk of this activity.
At the same time, Canadian investment in foreign securities was $1.8 billion, led by acquisitions of non-U.S. foreign shares.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stayed buoyant 0.59 points Thursday to 745.09
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups stayed higher on the day, with health-care hiking 2.9%, while information technology and industrials each up 1.2%.
The three laggards proved to be gold, down 1.9%, while materials sagged 0.8% and energy sank 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities rose on Thursday, putting the major indexes close to all-time highs, as investors parsed through economic data and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's testimony.
The Dow Jones Industrials hung onto 35.68 points worth of gains o 18,903.82, with Home Depot leading advancers and Cisco Systems the biggest decliner.
The S&P 500 strengthened 10.18 points at 2,187.12, with financials leading six sectors lower and real estate lagging.
The NASDAQ composite index advanced 39.39 points to 5,333.97
The three major indexes were also less than 0.5% away from hitting record highs.
In corporate news, retail giant and Dow component Wal-Mart reported mixed quarterly results, beating earnings estimates but missing sales expectations. Wal-Mart shares fell around 3.3%. Best Buy, on the other hand, beat both top and bottom-line estimates, lifting its shares rise 14.8%
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors charged the former CEO of specialty pharmacy firm Philidor Rx and a former Valeant Pharmaceuticals executive in a multi-million-dollar fraud and kickback scheme.
Yellen, the head of the Federal Reserve, testified in front of Congress. In prepared remarks, Yellen said a rate hike could be "appropriate relatively soon," adding there are dangers to waiting too long to tighten monetary policy.
Housing starts soared more than 25% in October, while weekly jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since November 1973. Meanwhile, October Consumer Price Index rose 0.4%, in line with expectations.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note were lower, raising yields to 2.29% from Wednesday’s 2.22%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices dropped 64 cents to $44.93 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slumped seven dollars to $1,216.90 U.S. an ounce.
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