Markets in Toronto made themselves a new peak Thursday, though not with a whole lot of thunder. Consumer discretionary and energy stocks were the chief engines of today’s gains.
The TSX climbed 28.94 points, to close Thursday at 19,774.41.
The Canadian dollar spiked 0.45 cents to 82.86 cents U.S.
Consumer discretionary stocks carried the day, with Martinrea International triumphing 76 cents, or 5.8%, to $13.86, while Magna International progressed $4.29, or 3.7%, to $120.71.
In energy issues, Vermilion Energy took on 28 cents, or 3.1%, to $9.22, while Crescent Point Energy added 12 cents, or 2.5%.
In health-care, Aurora Cannabis gained 47 cents, or 4.6%, to $10.77, while Trillium Pharmaceuticals accumulated 19 cents, or 2%, to $9.61.
Gold sagged, though, with Barrick Gold losing 99 cents, or 3.3%, to $28.79, while Wesdome Gold regressed 28 cents, or 2.4%, to $11.20.
Consumer staples proved another weight on the index, with Empire Company dropping 81 cents, or 2%, to $40.57, while Loblaw Companies fell $1.35, or 1.8%, to $74.10.
Among techs, Kinaxis lost $2.66, or 1.9%, to $137.41, while Tecsys gave back 59 cents, or 1.4%, to $40.54.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that, compared with February 2020, payroll employment in Canada was down by 897,900 (-5.3%) in March 2021.
Moreover, the Bank of Canada is likely to cut its bond-buying program again this year, possibly as soon as July, as provinces ease curbs to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation pressures build.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange acquired 3.65 points to 959.65.
Seven of the 12 subgroups remained positive Thursday, with consumer discretionary stocks jumping 1.6%, while energy stocks progressed 1.2%, and health-care stocks were haler by 0.8%.
The five laggards were weighed most by gold, down 0.9%, consumer staples, fading 0.5%, and information technology, clicking 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday as investors cheered stronger-than-expected labour-market data.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its peaks of the day, but remained positive 141.59 points to 34,464.64.
The S&P 500 added 4.89 points to 4,200.88.
The NASDAQ gave up earlier gains and edged down 1.72 points to 13,736.28.
Shares of Boeing advanced 3.9% on optimism about an economic recovery.
Gains for the overall market were capped however, as investors lightened up on technology shares as they rotated into cyclical stocks. Microsoft, Netflix, Alphabet and Apple all registered losses.
Snowflake shares fell 4% after the data-analytics software company reported widening losses. Nvidia’s stock dipped slightly even after the chip giant’s earnings and sales for the first quarter both beat Wall Street expectations. Its revenue grew 88% compared to last year.
Meme stocks, which have jumped this week amid a resurgence in speculative trading, turned higher again on Thursday. GameStop gained 4.8%. AMC Entertainment erased earlier gains and popped another 35%.
Ford was higher again, with the stock up 7% following an upgrade by RBC. The stock jumped 8% on Wednesday after unveiling its electric vehicle strategy.
Trading remained light, however, leading up to the Memorial Day long weekend.
Initial jobless claims fell to 406,000, hitting a new pandemic low and much less than expected, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected a total of 425,000 Americans to have filed unemployment benefits in the week ended May 22.
On Thursday, Senate Republicans unveiled their $928-billion infrastructure counteroffer to President Joe Biden’s $1.7-trillion proposal.
Republicans again rejected Biden’s call to raise corporate taxes, contending they could cover infrastructure costs with funds already allocated by Congress or with transportation user fees.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on congressional leaders to step up spending, saying that inflation-adjusted spending has remained stagnant for 11 years.
In a separate report, the Commerce Department left its initial estimate on first-quarter gross domestic product unchanged at 6.4%.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys sagged, raising yields to 1.60% from Wednesday’s 1.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 58 cents to $66.79 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $3.70 to $1,897.50 U.S. an ounce.
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