Markets in Toronto finished in the green on Thursday, with superior numbers for energy and industrial stocks the main reason why.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 34.97 points to close Thursday at 16,455.73
The Canadian dollar weakened 0.16 cents at 76.50 cents U.S.
The energy sector was boosted by Suncor Energy, up $1.32, or 2.5%, to $54.43, following a quarterly profit beat on Wednesday.
NexGen Energy jumped 19 cents, or 8%, to $2.57.
Consumer staples were also in the winners’ circle, with Saputo gaining 11 cents to $43.18, while Loblaw was higher $1.06, or 1.6%, to $69.59.
Golds wilted, and the top drag to the sector was Barrick Gold, which fell 93 cents, or 6%, to $14.50, after the company missed estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday.
A decline of $1.08, or 6.2% in shares of Goldcorp to $16.35, and a fall of 49 cents, or 20.6% in New Gold to $1.89, following disappointing quarterly results, also weighed on the materials group.
Among materials, Agnico Eagle Mines stumbled $2.88, or 4.9%, to $55.60.
In the tech field, Constellation Software dropped $14.41, or 1.4%, to $1,052.26, while BlackBerry faded five cents to $13.41.
On matters macroeconomic, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings for workers in this country were $998 in May, up 0.4% from April following five months of virtually no change.
The agency adds that, in the 12 months to May, earnings increased by 2.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved lower 2.2 points to 705.12
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups moved into positive country, as energy and industrials each surged 0.7%, and telecoms were better by 0.6%.
The five laggards were weighed most by gold, dulling in price 1%, while health-care weakened 0.6% and materials were 0.2% to the bad.
ON WALLSTREET
The major American stock indexes traded in different directions on Thursday as investors grappled with a disastrous quarterly report from Facebook.
The Dow Jones Industrials galloped 112.97 points to finish Thursday at 25,527.07, amid gains in 3M, Boeing and Travelers Companies.
The S&P 500 dropped 8.63 points to 2,837.44.
The NASDAQ dumped 80.05 points, or 1%, to 7,852.19, its worst one-day loss since June 27, when it lost 1.5%. Facebook suffered its worst day in its history as a public company with shares closing down 19%
Facebook’s misfortunes come a day after its quarterly revenue missed expectations. Global daily active users, a key metric for the social media giant, also disappointed investors. Additionally, Facebook said it expects its revenue growth rates to slow down from last year. Facebook's earnings per share, however, topped Wall Street estimates.
Facebook's negative results offset strong earnings from NBCUniversal-parent Comcast, Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices. Comcast shares rose 3.9%— leading Disney shares higher by 2.1%— while Qualcomm hiked 7%, and Advanced Micro Devices jumped 14.3%, on better-than-expected earnings.
The social media company's decline also comes ahead of the release of Amazon's latest quarterly figures. Google-parent Alphabet rose after releasing its earnings earlier this week, but Netflix shares tanked last week following the release of its quarterly numbers.
The decline in Facebook also overshadowed positive news on trade. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. and the European Union had initiated a "new phase" within their relationship, explaining how both regions would start collaborating in order to lower tariffs and avoid a potential trade war.
Trump's announcement comes after trade relations between the U.S. and E.U. had been strained in recent months. Shares of Caterpillar rose 1.5%. Caterpillar is a company sensitive to trade tensions given its large exposure to overseas revenue. 3M rose 1.8%, and Boeing got lift of 0.9%. 3M and Boeing are two other companies with large overseas revenue exposure.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury surrendered previous gains, raising yields to 2.98% from Wednesday’s 2.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up 34 cents to $69.64 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices let go of $9.40 to $1,222.40 U.S. an ounce.
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