Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday, extending gains to a second session, aided by strength in mining, energy stocks and an upbeat economic outlook from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The S&P/TSX Composite remained positive 137.08 points to approach noon EST Thursday at 20,931.30.
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.36 cents at 78.26 cents U.S.
Pot producer OrganiGram Holdings recovered from early morning losses and surpassed breakeven by half a cent to $2.36, and Cronos Group dropped a dime, or 1.9%, to $5.19.
Pan American Silver gained $2.23, or 7.8%, to $30.56, while rival Silvercorp Metals took on 32 cents, or 7.2%, to $4.77, to become the largest percentage gainers in the index.
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 15.64 points, or 1.8%, to 894.95.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher midday, with gold triumphing 3.4%, materials and energy each stronger 2.8%.
The three laggards were information technology, down 2%, health-care, weakening 0.7%, and real-estate, off a mere 0.04%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Thursday trading as bank shares moved higher following the Fed’s shift toward ending its pandemic era policies early next year.
The Dow Jones Industrials stayed higher 153.43 points at 36,080.86
The S&P 500 index shed some of its gains, losing 6.03 points by noon, to 4,703.82.
The NASDAQ tumbled 211.88 points, or 1.4%, at 15,351.97.
Bank stocks powered the outperformance of the Dow, with shares of JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs gaining more than 2%. Shares of Bank of America rose 2.8% after analysts at JPMorgan named the stock a top pick for next year.
The market’s strength was muted by struggles for some large tech names, with Apple falling more than 2% and major semiconductor stocks like AMD and Nvidia dropping. Shares of Adobe and homebuilder Lennar fell 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 0.4% on the news. Stocks tied to the economic recovery including Caterpillar and chemical company Dow also moved higher.
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.
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 hiked $2.04 to $72.91 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices popped $34.80 to $1,799.30 U.S. an ounce.
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