Equities in Canada’s largest centre took off like a Saturn rocket at the launch of business Thursday, led by a surge in materials stocks and upbeat earnings from Canadian Tire and Canada Goose Holdings.
The TSX leaped 258.69 points, or 1.6%, to kick off Thursday at 16,257.43.
The Canadian dollar regained 0.5 cents at 76.66 cents U.S.
Canada Goose beat estimates for quarterly revenue on Thursday, as higher online sales and strong demand for its $1,000 parkas in China helped the company cushion a hit from weak wholesale business.
Canada Goose shares were down (pardon the pun) $1.32, or 3.1%, to $41.82.
Canadian Tire reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Thursday, as customers bought more tools, kitchenware and gardening products online during the COVID-19 crisis. Canadian Tire shot up $7.96, or 5.4%, to $155.69.
Canadian Natural Resources posted a surprise profit on Thursday, helped by cost-saving measures and a slight recovery in fuel demand after COVID-19 lockdowns were eased across the world.
Natural Resources shares were unchanged at $22.21.
Cormark Securities raised the target price on Cargojet Inc to $255.00 from $200.00. Cargojet shares jumped $5.16, or 2.2%, to $245.31.
Scotiabank raised the target price on Equitable Group to $107.00 from $94.00. Equitable hiked $2.46, or 2.6%, to $96.01.
Scotiabank raised the target price on Intact Financial to $166.00 from $161.00. Intact shares shrank 43 cents to $147.32.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Aurora Cannabis, which jumped 99 cents, or 17%, to $6.81, and Tourmaline Oil, which rose $1.16, or 6.7%, to $18.38, after multiple brokerages raised their price targets on the oil producer's stock.
Badger Daylighting was the biggest decliner on the TSX, falling $2.92, or 7.2%, to $37.73, after the construction and engineering services provider missed third-quarter revenue estimates, followed by Stantec, down $1.64, or 4.1%, to $37.94.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 1.34 points to 696.31.
All 12 TSX subgroups were up in the first hour, with gold brightening 4.7%, materials muscling up 4.3%, and health-care booming 2.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks jumped on Thursday on hopes the winner of the U.S. presidential election would soon be determined.
The Dow Jones Industrials hurtled skyward 572.33 points, or 2.1%, to 28,419.99.
The S&P 500 jumped 73.28 points, or 2.1%, to 3,516.72.
The NASDAQ screamed higher 253.53 points, or 2.2%, to 11,844.32.
Shares of major tech-related companies led the gains on Thursday. Facebook and Alphabet both traded more than 2% higher. Amazon, Microsoft and Apple gained more than 3% each.
Those gains put the major averages on pace for their biggest weekly gains since April. The Dow was up more than 6% week to date. The S&P 500 advancing 7.1%, and NASDAQ vaulting 8.2%, over that time period.
Those gains put those names up sharply over the past two days. Investors in this high growth sector cheered a potential divided government as it likely means taxes won’t go up, antitrust scrutiny could stay in check and the China trade war doesn’t get any worse.
Sentiment on Thursday also got a boost from better-than-expected earnings out of Qualcomm and General Motors. Qualcomm’s stock popped more than 11%. General Motors shares gained 3.4%.
Investors also awaited the latest monetary policy announcement from the Federal Reserve. The central bank is expected to keep overnight rates near zero and to reiterate the need for more fiscal stimulus as the economy continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Late Wednesday, media projected that former Vice President Joe Biden was the winner in Wisconsin and Michigan, both states that President Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Biden would then be just 17 Electoral College votes away from winning
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 0.77%.
Oil prices nosed up 10 cents to $39.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices popped $52.50 to $1,948.70.
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