Canada's main stock index scaled a five-month high on Thursday as a surge in shares of drugmaker Bausch Health and higher oil prices outweighed disappointment over earnings, including Bombardier's surprise quarterly loss.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index remained positive 22.35 points by noon hour to 16,523.96.
The Canadian dollar eased 0.20 cents to 75.18 cents U.S.
Bombardier shares dropped a penny, or 2.3%, to 42 cents. Bombardier's second-quarter was hit by higher costs in its train business and a more than 40% drop in business jet deliveries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bausch almost 11% after it said it would spin off its eye care unit, Bausch + Lomb, into a separate publicly-listed company, seven years after acquiring it for nearly $9 billion.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Spin Master, which jumped 22.5% after reporting a narrower-than-expected loss, and Pretium Resources,
which rose 20.5% spurred by a rise in quarterly revenue.
Cronos Group and Lightspeed POS were the biggest decliners after they reported losses for the second quarter. Cronos jettisoned $1.26, or 13.6%, to $7.98, while Lightspeed declined $2.49, or 6%, to $39.34.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 8.08 points to greet noon at 739.
The 12 TSX subgroups were divided evenly, as industrials gained 1.3%, energy picked up 0.8%, and financials improved 0.7%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by materials and consumer discretionaries, each down 1.1%, while gold lost 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were flat on Thursday as traders kept an eye on Washington for clues on a new coronavirus stimulus package and pored over better-than-expected unemployment data.
The Dow Jones Industrials stayed green 30.9 points to 27,232.42.
The S&P 500 dropped 2.05 points to 3,325.72.
The NASDAQ recovered 5.2 points to add to Wednesday’s record high at 11,003.59.
Materials, health care and energy were the worst-performing S&P 500 sectors. A 1.7% gain in McDonald’s was offset by declines in Merck and Johnson & Johnson within the Dow.
Thursday’s moves also come as lawmakers struggle to reach a deal on a new coronavirus relief package. The White House appeared to yield slightly on its opposition to continued federal support for unemployment benefits. The Trump team offered to extend extra federal unemployment insurance into December at $400 per week.
The U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims for the week ending Aug. 1 totaled 1.186 million. That’s well below a Dow Jones estimate of 1.423 million and the lowest claims levels since the pandemic began.
The data came a day before the government’s monthly non-farm payrolls report, which is expected to show jobs growth of 1.264 million for July.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury moved determinely ahead, dropping yields to 0.52% from Wednesday’s 0.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added nine cents to $42.28 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices leaped $19.60 to $2,068.90 U.S. an ounce.
