Canada's main stock index resumed its journey toward the 20,000-point mark midday Thursday, as health-care strength overcame dips in resource stocks.
The TSX recovered 15.81 points to reach noon EDT Thursday at 19,986.96.
The Canadian dollar docked half a cent to 82.55 cents U.S.
Inter Pipeline said it recommends Pembina Pipeline Corp's proposal over Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP's higher takeover offer to its shareholders. Pembina ditched 12 cents, to $37.90.
A fight over Canadian nickel-copper miner Noront Resources shows the scramble for battery metals is accelerating, with global miners racing to secure supply ahead of an expected surge in demand from electric vehicles. Noront shares gathered half a cent, or 1.5%, to 33.5 cents.
Blackberry surrendered early gains and approached lunch hour down 37 cents, or 2%, to $17.88, while Tilray stayed on the upward path, gaining 93 cents, or 4.1%, to $23.75.
Endeavour Silver fell 54 cents, or 6%, the most on the TSX to $8.48. The second biggest decliner was New Gold, down 19 cents, or 6.9%, to $2.48.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said a multi-lateral agreement on the taxation of tech giants was "within reach" and it should go hand-in-hand with a deal on a global minimum corporate tax rate.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 6.92 points to 966.62
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were in plus territory midday, health-care coming in the strongest, up 1.9%, while consumer staples climbed 0.7%, and financials compiled 0.6%.
The five laggards were weighed most by gold, fading 2.6%, while materials docked 2.1%, an d real-estate retreated 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Cyclical stocks lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher on Thursday, while better-than-expected labor market data also helped sentiment.
The 30-stock index recovered 25.49 points at 34,625.87, after shedding 265 points at its session low.
Merck and Dow Inc were the two best performers in the 30-stock benchmark, Merck up 2.1% and Dow gaining 1.4%.
The S&P 500 was in the minus category 9.66 points to 4,198.46
The much-broader index sits about 1.5% from its all-time high reached earlier last month, but it has been stuck around these levels for about the last two weeks. The S&P 500 is up 11% this year so far. Energy and financials were the biggest gainers among 11 S&P 500 sectors.
The NASDAQ dwindled 118.71 points to 13,637.62.
Energy and financials were the biggest gainers among 11 S&P 500 sectors.
Shares of General Motors rose 3% after the company said it expects its results for the first half of 2021 to be “significantly better” than its prior guidance.
Investors continued monitor the wild action in meme stocks, particularly theater chain AMC Entertainment. The stock tumbled as much as 30% after practically doubling in the prior session. The movie theater chain said it may offer and sell from time to time up to 11.55 million shares of its Class A common stock.
Other meme stocks also came under pressure Thursday. Bed Bath & Beyond fell more than 20%, while BlackBerry erased earlier gains and fell about 5%.
On the data front, private job growth for May accelerated at its fastest pace in nearly a year as companies hired nearly a million workers, according to a report Thursday from payroll processing firm ADP.
Total hires came to 978,000 for the month, a big jump from April’s 654,000 and the largest gain since June 2020. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 680,000.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys sank, lifting yields to 1.62% from Wednesday’s 1.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 26 cents to $68.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dulled $39.30 to $1,870.60 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
