Equities in Toronto opened higher on Thursday, aided by energy and mining stocks, and as an upbeat economic outlook from the U.S. Federal Reserve boosted sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite zoomed 162.14 points to begin trading Thursday at 20,931.30.
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.23 cents at 78.14 cents U.S.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank said Wednesday they have asked staff in Canada to work remotely, joining Bank of Nova Scotia in halting plans for a return to offices amid growing concerns over the Omicron variant.
CIBC shares sprang up $1.02 to $144.44, while those for National took on 95 cents, or 1%, to $96.23.
CIBC raised the rating on Cineplex to outperform from neutral. Cineplex acquired 25 cents to $39.02.
Canaccord Genuity cuts the rating on Freshlocal Solutions to hold from buy. Freshlocal stock dawdled three cents, or 3.8%, to 76 cents.
CIBC cut the rating on Manulife Financial to underperform from neutral. Manulife lost 21 cents to $23.69.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported wholesale sales grew 1.4% in October to the highest level on record, 11.4% higher than in February 2020.
Ontario sales and the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories sub-sector drove the increase.
A federal government advisory against traveling abroad due to the Omicron variant could lead to further confusion and cancellations ahead of the key holiday travel season, the country's second-largest carrier said on Wednesday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange jumped 10.38 points, or 1.2%, to 889.69.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher in the first hour, with gold brighter 2.8%, materials stronger 2.5%, and energy rumbling 1.7% higher.
Only consumer staples missed the party, shedding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose slightly in early trading Thursday trading the Federal Reserve signaled it would be aggressive on tapering and sees three interest rate hikes in 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 182.92 points at 36,110.35,
The S&P 500 index acquired 7.93 points to 4,717.78.
The NASDAQ veered lower 76.7 points at 15,488.83.
Thursday’s moves came a day after stocks rallied in the previous session as the Federal Reserve announced a more aggressive plan to wind down its asset purchases and hike rates in 2022.
Shares of companies that have done well in previous rate-hiking cycles led early gainers on Thursday, with materials stock Freeport-McMoRan rose more than 3%. Bank stocks also rose across the board, with JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America all up about 1%.
Tech stocks struggled broadly, with Apple falling more than 2% and major semiconductor stocks like AMD and Nvidia dropping. Shares of Adobe and homebuilder Lennar fell in early trading after underwhelming quarterly reports.
In transportation news, Delta Air Lines reported that it now expects to see a profit of $200 million in the fourth quarter, after previously projecting a loss. Shares rose more than 1% on the news.
The Fed will begin reducing the pace of its asset purchases in January and buy just $60 billion of bonds each month going forward, compared to $90 billion in the month of December. That decision follows recent inflation data showing a 6.8% surge in November, which is higher than expected and the fastest rate since 1982.
On the economic data front, weekly jobless claims came in slightly higher than expected, while housing starts for November were much stronger than economists projected after declining in the prior month.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys advanced, lowering yields to 1.43% from Wednesday’s 1.46%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 61 cents to $71.48 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices popped $34.10 to $1,798.60 U.S. an ounce.
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