Canada's main stock index was flat in early trading on Thursday, struggling to rebound from a selloff triggered by fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections, while tumbling oil prices kept the energy sector decidedly in the red.
The TSX eked 9.41 points to open Thursday at 15,595.98.
The Canadian dollar sagged 0.33 cents to 74.80 cents U.S.
Former American retail whiz J.C. Penney Co said on Wednesday it has entered an asset purchase agreement with Brookfield Asset
Management, Simon Property Group and a majority of the company's first lien lenders. Brookfield shares acquired 15 cents to $40.46.
RBC cut the price target on Cogeco Communications to $114.00 from $119.00. Cogeco shares climbed $1.20, or 1.3%, to $95.05.
Citigroup cut the rating on Suncor Energy to neutral from buy. Suncor retreated 38 cents, or 2.5%, to $14.62.
CIBC cut the price target on Acadian Timber to $18.00 from $19.00. Acadian shares docked 12 cents to $15.00.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said the number of employees receiving pay or benefits from their employer rose by 303,200 (or 2.0%) in August.
This followed large increases in July (759,500, or 5.3%) and June (665,500, or 4.9%), and brought the total payroll employment change since February to a decrease of 1.6 million (or 9.5%).
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked lower 0.91 points, to begin Thursday at 677.02.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher in the first hour, with gold shining 1.4% brighter, materials stronger 1.3%, and consumer discretionary stocks better by 0.7%.
The two laggards were energy, sliding 2.6%, and consumer staples, down 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose slightly on Thursday as shares of major tech companies advanced ahead of their quarterly earnings reports. Sentiment also got a lift from better-than-expected economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 33.3 points to 26,553.25,
The S&P 500 increased 22.52 points to 3,293.55,
The NASDAQ jumped 120.44 points, or 1.1%, to 11,125.11.
Thursday’s moves came a day after the market’s biggest selloff in months. Both the Dow and S&P 500 had their worst day on Wednesday since June. The NASDAQ had its biggest one-day drop since Sept. 8.
Shares of Amazon jumped 1.1%, and Apple was up by 2.3%. Alphabet climbed more than 2% and Facebook popped 4.3%. All four companies are slated to report earnings after the bell Thursday.
More than 270 S&P 500 companies have reported calendar third-quarter earnings thus far. Of those companies, 85% have reported better-than-expected earnings. Despite the high beat rate, several stocks have fallen after releasing their quarterly results.
U.S. gross domestic product for the third quarter expanded at a 33.1% annualized pace, its fastest growth ever. The reading came after a 31.4% plunge in the second quarter and was better than the 32% estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
Meanwhile, the number of first-time unemployment-benefits filers declined for a second straight week and hit its lowest level since March. Initial weekly U.S. jobless claims came in at 751,000 for the week ending Oct. 24, better than a Dow Jones estimate of 778,000.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury fell, raising yields to 0.78% from Wednesday’s 0.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.75 at $35.64 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $9.10 to $1,878.30
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