Financial stocks lifted the Canadian market into positive territory Thursday after strong results from two of the country’s largest banks.
The S&P/TSX composite index accumulated 70.70 points to 14,214.72
The Canadian dollar nipped up 0.04 cents to 102.8 cents U.S.
Royal Bank of Canada shares rallied 5.2% to $59.92, after the bank said its first-quarter earnings rose 23% to $1.84 billion on record results in Canadian banking, capital markets and wealth management. Shares of RBC were the most actively traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange with more than 7.7 million shares changing hands.
Shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank added 3.9% to $83.60, after the company said its first-quarter profit rose 19% to $1.54 billion on revenue of $5.46 billion. T-D also raised its quarterly dividend by five cents to 66 cents a share.
Energy stocks were some of the worst performers, as shares of Suncor Energy Inc. dropped 1.1% to $45.50 and Cenovus Energy Inc. shed 1% to $38.23, and shares of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. dropped 3.5% to $47.97.
Gold tumbled in price, and shares of Barrick Gold Corp. slipped 2.6% to $51.10 and Kinross Gold Corp. were flat at $15.19.
Other large-cap movers included Manulife Financial Corp., which picked up 2.9% to $18.58 and Research In Motion Ltd. ballooned 4% to $66.60.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 1.71 points to 2,403.73, while the Nasdaq Canada index regained 17.55 points to 836.14.
In Toronto, all but four of the 14 subgroups were positive. Financials and health-care issues galloped ahead 2.2% each, while global base metals improved 1.9%.
Three of the four laggards were gold, down 1.5%, energy, off 0.9% and materials, trailing Wednesday’s close 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks extended their gains Thursday as bulls continued to cheer the initial unemployment claims data falling to their lowest level in nearly three years, along with a 1% drop in the price of oil.
The Dow Jones industrial average grew 191.40 points, or 1.6%, to close at 12,258.20.
The S&P 500 was up 22.53 points to 1,330.97. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 50.67 points to 2,796.65.
All 30 members of the Dow were higher. The blue chips enjoyed their best single-day performance since early February.
Investors said Thursday's gains was fueled by a strong weekly jobless claims report, which showed the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits dropping to its lowest level since May 2008.
Stocks also got a major boost from a calming in the energy markets -- crude oil was down 53 cents U.S. a barrel in afternoon trading. Oil was down on news reports that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi might agree to a peace negotiations mediated by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.
Valero Energy shares jumped 7.6% Thursday after the oil refining company said it now expects to post adjusted earnings between 76 and 91 cents U.S. a share, well ahead of the 48 cents U.S. a share analysts had forecast.
Shares of Big Lots rose 4% after the company reported a 15% increase in earnings to $1.46 U.S. a share. Analysts were looking for $1.38 U.S. a share, according to Briefing.com.
Economically speaking, the Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims totaled 368,000 in the week ended Feb. 26 -- the lowest weekly figure since May 31, 2008.
Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com had expected the number of people filing for unemployment benefits to rise to 400,000, up from the revised tally of 388,000 the previous week.
The report came a day before the big labour report, the monthly employment figures from the government. Economists expect that 192,000 jobs were created in February, with the unemployment rate rising to 9.1% from 9% in January.
The Institute for Supply Management's service industries index was also a positive force for the markets, rising to a stronger-than-expected reading of 59.7 for February. Economists had been looking for a reading of 59. Any reading above 50 signals expansion in the sector.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell a bit, pushing the yield up to 3.57% from Wednesday’s 3.46%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery stepped back 34 cents to $101.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery fell $21.30 to $1,416.40 U.S. an ounce. On Wednesday gold hit an intraday all-time high of $1,441 U.S. an ounce, before setting a settlement record of $1,437.70 U.S.
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