Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday, helped by gains among its biggest banking stocks as bond yields rose while continued weakness in oil prices weighed on its energy companies.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index took on 42.5 points to move into noon hour at 15,920.73
The Canadian dollar moved up 0.14 cents to 78.47 cents U.S.
Among the most active Canadian stocks by volume were Aurora Cannabis Inc, down 8.5% at $5.69 and Canopy Growth Co, down 4.2% at $17.69.
Canopy Growth said late on Wednesday that it was investing in fellow marijuana producer TerrAscend Corp. Aurora said it had arranged a $100-million financing.
The energy group retreated, with Suncor Energy down 2% at $44.50. Seven Generations Energy Ltd fell 6.5% to $17.07 after announcing its capital investment plans for 2018.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that foreign investment in Canadian securities totaled $16.8 billion in September, up from $9.8 billion in August. At the same time, Canadian investment in foreign securities slowed to $2.4 billion in September, after reaching $12.1 billion in August.
Meanwhile, manufacturing sales rose 0.5% to $53.7 billion in September, reflecting higher sales in the petroleum and coal product industry.
Forecasts were for manufacturing sales are forecast to have declined by 0.3%, in line with slower economic growth in the second half of the year after a strong first six months.
Moreover, ADP Canada released its first publication of the Canada National Employment Report this morning.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 2.95 points to 788.67
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, as information technology skyrocketed 1.1%, financials and utilities were richer by 0.6% each
The four laggards were health-care, sliding 1.5%, and energy, down 0.9%, and consumer staples, off 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities rose on Thursday, rebounding from consecutive declines, following strong quarterly results from Wal-Mart and Cisco Systems. Wall Street also looked ahead to a key vote on tax reform.
The Dow Jones industrial average regained 191.7 points to 23,462.98, with Cisco and Wal-Mart leading advancers on the 30-stock index.
Wal-Mart reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, sending the stock more than 8% higher to an all-time high.
Cisco also reported earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations, lifted in part by strong sales of software applications. Cisco shares popped 6% and were on track for their best session since Feb. 11, 2016
The S&P 500 improved 20.78 points to 2,585.40, with consumer staples and information technology as the best-performing sectors. Wal-Mart was among the best-performing stocks in the index after its strong earnings, which were boosted by a surge in grocery and online sales.
The NASDAQ Composite leaped 84.58 points, or 1.3%, to 6,790.78,
Later on Thursday, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a tax plan. If the bill becomes law, it would slash the corporate tax rate to 20% from 35%. Expectations of tax reform have helped stocks reach all-time highs recently.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sank Thursday, raising yields to 2.35% from Wednesday’s 2.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 30 cents a barrel to $55.03 U.S.
Gold prices brightened $2.40 to $1,280.10 U.S. an ounce.
