Stocks in Canada’s biggest centre continued their series of small winning sessions Thursday, led by gains in telecoms, health-care and utilities.
The S&P/TSX Composite advanced 29.34 points to conclude Thursday at 15,335.23
The Canadian dollar lurched lower 0.69 cents to 74.1 cents U.S.
Telecoms climbed, with Rogers Communications up 56 cents, or 1.1% to $52.06 and Quebecor adding 28 cents to $37.65.
Among health-care issues, Valeant Pharmaceuticals paced the group with a gain of 19 cents, or 1%, to $19.21, while Canopy Growth climbed 42 cents, or 4.7%, to $9.31.
Utilities were also in the green, with Fortis vaulting 87 cents, or 2.1%, to $41.55.
Among consumer discretionary concerns, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers collapsed $3.28, or 6.5%, to $47.55
Among tech concerns, BlackBerry declined 10 cents, or 1%, to $9.68, extending losses since it reported quarterly earnings on Tuesday. Constellation Software made up for the loss, however, growing $6.78, or 1.1%, to $617.99.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported November’s consumer price index rose 1.2% on a year-over-year basis in November, following a 1.5% increase in October. On a seasonally- adjusted monthly basis, the CPI was down 0.2% in November, after increasing 0.2% in October.
The agency also says retail sales rose for the third consecutive month, rising 1.1% to $45.0 billion in October. Higher sales at gasoline stations and general merchandise stores mostly fueled the gain.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange pointed upward 1.66 points to 720.15
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, as telecoms climbed 0.9%, health-care sprouted 0.7%, and utilities moved up 0.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by consumer discretionary stocks, down 0.2%, information technology and real-estate stocks, each skidding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities fell on Thursday, with consumer discretionary lagging, as investors digested a series of economic data, while the Dow Jones industrial average failed to reach a key psychological level.
The Dow descended 23.08 points to 19,918.88, with Wal-Mart leading decliners and 3M the biggest riser.
The S&P 500 lost 4.22 points to 2,260.96, with consumer discretionary leading eight sectors lower and telecommunications the top advancer.
The NASDAQ composite index subtracted 24.01 points to 5,447.42
Stocks have risen sharply since Donald Trump won the presidency, as optimism has flooded the market amid potential tax cuts and deregulation of certain sectors.
U.S. initial jobless claims jumped to 275,000 last week, with economists expecting those numbers to total 256,000. Durable goods orders for November fell 4.6% last month, less than expected.
Meanwhile, the final read on third-quarter U.S. gross domestic product came in at 3.5%, above the expected 3.2%.
Personal income remained flat in November while consumer spending increased modestly.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note sidled lower, raising yields to 2.56% from Wednesday’s 2.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 11 cents to $52.60 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dropped three dollars to $1,131.60 U.S. an ounce.
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