Equities in Toronto made their way back to even terms by noon Thursday, even as tech issues took their lumps.
The TSX Composite Index clawed its way toward breakeven, but remained in the red 27.43 points by noon Thursday at 29,720.52,
However, the benchmark index was still on track for a 10.8% gain for the third quarter, which would be its fifth straight quarterly advance.
The Canadian dollar backtracked 0.14 cents to 71.81 cents U.S.
Meanwhile, Canada planned to create duty-free access for up to 95% of its exports to Indonesia over the next eight to 12 months, the International Trade Minister said, as Canada attempts to diversify its trading partners.
Technology stocks fell 4.3% as Constellation Software dropped $203.34, or 4.9%, to $3,934.28, after the resignation of its president, Mark Leonard.
Heavyweight Shopify retreated $6.30, or 3.1%, to $200.54, but rival Celestica recovered $8.17, or 2.4%, to $342.50.
Meanwhile, BlackBerry added 17 cents, or 2.8%, to $6.10, after the company raised its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast on the back of strong demand for its cybersecurity software.
Material and gold mining stocks posted gains tracking bullion prices. Wesdome Gold acquired 61 cents, or 3.1%, to $20.53, Kinross Gold grew 33 cents, or 1%, to $32.90, and Endeavour Mining tacked on 71 cents, or 1.3%, to $57.42.
Lithium Americas' U.S.-listed shares rose 24% premarket, having jumped more than 90% in the previous session, after Reuters reported that the Trump administration was seeking up to a 10% stake in the company. Shares north of the border triumphed $1.67, or 20%, to $10.02.
Air Canada said it expected a hit of $375 million to its operating income from labour disruptions, after its flight attendants went on a four-day strike in August. Its shares dropped 26 cents, or 1.4%, to $18.12.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—increased by 21,600 (+0.1%) in July, following a decline of 9,100 (-0.1%) in June.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange poked its way into positive territory 0.3 points to 915.42.
The 12 subgroups were evenly divided midday, as materials gathered 1%, gold was better by 0.8%, and telecoms improved 0.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by information technology, down 2.3%, health-care, sliding 1.3%, and consumer stapled, off 0.4%>
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 fell again on Thursday, bogged down by a further pullback in Oracle, as well as a jump in rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials backpedaled 68.26 points to 46,053.02.
The much-broader index dropped 23.7 points to 6,614.27.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ tumbled 67.32 points to 22,430.54
Oracle slid 4%, putting the stock on track to post a third straight day of losses, as questions over the state of the artificial intelligence trade lingered. The market action appears to be reflecting concerns about record-high valuations and potentially risky circular relationships in the AI industry after some recent deals.
Through Wednesday’s close, Oracle, which led the latest leg of the bull market, is off more than 10% from its recent high. Thursday’s decline was partly driven by a sell rating issued in new coverage by Rothschild & Co. Redburn, which predicted a 40% pullback because the “market materially overestimates” how much Oracle’s recent AI deals will boost the company’s core cloud business.
First-time filings for jobless benefits were at a seasonally adjusted 218,000 for the week ended Sept. 20, the Labor Department said Thursday.
That’s below the 235,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated and 14,000 less than the previous period’s revised initial unemployment claims, which had also eased after seeing a brief spike the week before that.
The solid jobs data, as well as a strong upward revision in second-quarter gross domestic product to 3.8%, could mean the Federal Reserve will hesitate before cutting rates again, undermining a key catalyst for the bulls.
Prices for 10-year Treasury sagged Wednesday, raising yields to 4.19% from Wednesday’s 4.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell short 15 cents to $64.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices moved upward $2.60 to $3,770.70 U.S. an ounce.
