Equities on Canada’s biggest index rose on Thursday as stocks rallied broadly in light holiday trading, at one point touching its highest level since April 2015.
The S&P/TSX Composite jumped 61.02 points to conclude Thursday at 15,422.12
The Canadian dollar stayed positive 0.38 cents to 74.04 cents U.S.
Gold stocks ruled the roost Thursday, with Iamgold Corporation soaring 44 cents, or 8.9%, to $5.40, and Detour Gold climbing $1.17, or 6.6%, to $18.87.
Materials also showed some spring, as First Majestic Silver leaped 98 cents, or 9.7%, to $11.07, while Silver Wheaton went skyward $2.26, or 9%, to $27.32.
Financials backed off a mite, with Scotiabank faltering 83 cents, or 1.1%, to $75.39, while Manulife moved lower 13 cents to $24.03.
Energy was also in the red, with Imperial Oil down 10 cents to $47.18, while EnCana Corporation shed 40 cents, or 2.4%, to $15.98.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 14.28 points, or 1.9%, to 760.22
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups ended the session higher, with gold popping 5.4%, materials perking 3%, and health-care haler by 2%.
The lone laggards were financials, off 0.5%, and energy, settling 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday after the U.S. announced sanctions on individuals and organizations it believes were involved in the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The Dow Jones Industrials finished 11.57 points in the red at 19,822.11, having gone negative during late-morning trade, led by JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and not recovering all of those losses
The S&P 500 dropped 0.66 points to 2,249.26, a day after the index's biggest one-day drop since Oct. 11 where every sector turned negative.
The NASDAQ composite index fell 6.47 points to 5,432.09
The White House sanctioned nine entities and individuals, including two Russian intelligence agencies and four officers of its main intelligence agency. It also expelled 35 Russian diplomats and closed two separate compounds.
On the data front, jobless claims declined by 10,000 to 265,000, according to Thursday morning's U.S. Labor Department report, the 95th straight week that claims were below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labour market. Jobless claims were expected to drop to 264,000 for the week ending Dec. 24, according to economists.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday the country's trade deficit in goods grew last month. The initial estimate, which does not include trade in services, showed that the country exported $1.2 billion less in November than in October. Imports rose by $2.2 billion during the month.
Oil prices were roughly flat as U.S. crude inventories rose by 614,000 barrels.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note gained ground, lowering yields to 2.48% from Wednesday’s 2.51%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 30 cents to $53.76 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $16.60 to $1,157.50 U.S. an ounce.
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