Markets in Canada’s largest centre ran their win streak to three on Thursday, boosted by tech and industrial stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index leaped 125.72 points to close out Thursday at 16,443.86
The Canadian dollar ducked back 0.14 cents to 74.26 cents
In the tech sector, Shopify was the runaway winner, piling up gains of $19.49, or 5.5%, to $374.50, while Constellation Software hiked $16.82, or 1.4%, to $1,191.60
Industrial outperformed as well, with Canadian Pacific Railway, well, spiking $8.27, or 2.8%, to $307.44, while Air Canada took off $1.46, or 3.8%, to $40.34.
Consumer staples gained, too, Loblaw Companies reaching higher $1.10, or 1.6%, to $70.16, while Metro climbed 60 cents, or 1.2%, to $49.32.
Torex Gold Resources collapsed 83 cents, or 6.5%, to end the day at $11.88, while Kinross Gold doffed three cents to $4.23.
In materials, Agnico Eagle Mines dropped 28 cents to $54.93, while Frontier Lithium lost half a cent, or 1.4%, to 33.5 cents.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said foreign investors reduced their holdings of Canadian securities by $1.5 billion in March, the first divestment in three months. Meanwhile, Canadian investment in foreign securities totaled $1.5 billion, led by purchases of U.S. corporate bonds
Also, in March, manufacturing sales increased 2.1% to $58.0 billion, following a 0.2% decrease in February and a 0.9% gain in January. The agency said the largest gains were posted in the transportation equipment, petroleum and coal product, and primary metal industries.
Canada added 61,700 jobs in April, the second straight month of robust jobs gains, led by hiring in the education and health services and construction sectors, according to ADP.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 0.64 points to 608.18
All but two of the 12 Toronto subgroups were higher, as information technology triumphed 2.5%, industrials rallied 1.9%, and consumer staples were stronger by 0.8%.
The two laggards proved to be gold, down 1.1%, and materials, off 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Thursday as sentiment was boosted by strong earnings from Walmart and Cisco Systems while banks climbed on higher rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials popped 214.66 points to finish Thursday at 25,862.68, led by Walmart and Cisco.
The S&P 500 picked up 25.36 points to 2,876.32
The NASDAQ Composite heightened 75.9 points, or 1%, to 7,898.05. The major indexes also closed higher for the third straight day.
Walmart shares rose 1.4% after the retailer posted first-quarter earnings for fiscal 2020 that topped analyst expectations. The company said it is in a “good position ” to meet its goals for 2019 despite tough comparisons for the second quarter.
Cisco Systems also reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, sending its stock up more than 6.7%. The company also issued stronger-than-forecast revenue guidance.
The gains in Cisco and Walmart offset worries over the ongoing trade spat between China and the U.S. Investors had largely priced in the two countries striking a deal this month. Instead, the U.S. hiked tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. China retaliated with higher tariffs on $60 billion worth of goods.
Bank shares contributed to Thursday’s gains, as yields rose on stronger-than-forecast economic data. Shares of Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs all gained more than 1%.
On top of that, President Donald Trump declared on Wednesday a national emergency over threats against American technology. This move is expected to be followed by a ban on U.S. firms doing business with Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the addition of Huawei Technologies and its affiliates to the Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List, making it more difficult for the Chinese telecom giant to conduct business with U.S. companies.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slumped, raising yields to 2.4% from Wednesday’s 2.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.05 to $63.09 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices docked 11 dollars to $1,286.80 U.S. an ounce.
