Equities in Toronto gained on Thursday as major gold miner Barrick Gold and a string of other companies reported better-than-expected earnings and oil producer Cenovus Energy turned a profit.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 50.64 points to greet noon at 15,222.03
The Canadian dollar fell 0.51 cents to 79.83 cents U.S.
Barrick, the world's largest gold miner by production, rose 4.5% to $21.08, as investors cheered the news it had produced more gold than expected and lowered its costs.
Rival Goldcorp fell 3.9% to $16.47 despite beating earnings expectations, as production at some mines fell short of analyst forecasts.
Smaller bullion producers also rose on earnings reports, with Detour Gold Corp surging 8.7% to $15.02 after its profit beat expectations.
Agnico Eagle Mines was up 3.3% after it reported an earnings beat, raised its production forecast and lowered its cost outlook.
Cenovus jumped 5% to $10.45 after reporting a profit in the second quarter compared to a year-ago loss, helped by its recent purchase of ConocoPhillips' Canadian oil-sands assets.
Among miners, Cameco Corp was up 3.4% to $12.98 after reporting a small quarterly loss and saying it had settled a U.S. tax dispute for much less than initially proposed, while fertilizer company Potash Corp of Saskatchewan gained 1.1% to $22.21 after reporting bigger-than-expected revenue.
Teck Resources rose 1.4% to $26.51 after reporting a better-than-expected quarterly profit on higher steel-making coal prices.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc gained 3.1% to $33.78 after reporting a 19% rise in quarterly profit.
On things macroeconomic, Statistics Canada reported average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees registered at $972 in May, virtually unchanged from April but up 2.0% from 12 months earlier.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange reversed 0.51 points to 769.69.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, as energy and telecoms each gained 0.8% and consumer staples perked 0.5%.
The three laggards were gold, down 0.8%, real-estate, sliding 0.4%, and utilities, off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Equities south of the border traded higher on Thursday as the tech sector was lifted by strong earnings from key companies.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 59.62 points to 21,770.63, to yet another intraday high, with Boeing contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 picked up 4.97 points to 2,482.80, improving on Wednesday’s all-time high, with telecommunications, consumer discretionary and technology leading advancers.
The NASDAQ added to Wednesday’s all-time high, gaining 34.12 points to 6,456.86
Shares of Facebook jumped more than 5% in midday trade. The social media giant reported second-quarter earnings per share of $1.32 on revenue of $9.32 billion. Analysts expected the company to post earnings per share of $1.13 on sales of $9.2 billion. The company also reported better-than-expected monthly active users, a key metric for Facebook.
Facebook's stock is one of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 this year, having gained 44%.
PayPal also reported quarterly results that beat expectations, sending the mobile payments company's stock 1% higher by noon ET.
Tech has been the stalwart of the U.S. stock market this year. The sector has spiked 23% in 2017, outdistancing other sectors.
In economic news, initial jobless claims came in at 244,000, slightly above the expected 240,000. Durable goods orders, meanwhile, rose 6.5% in June.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slumped, raising yields to 2.33% from Wednesday’s 2.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 17 cents to $48.92 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices advanced $8.10 to $1,257.50 U.S. an ounce.
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