Equities finished solidly in the green Thursday, powered by gold and mining concerns.
The TSX Composite index gained 81.38 points to 20,311.78.
The Canadian dollar hiked half a cent to 80.37 cents U.S.
Resource stocks jumped, led by Canfor Corp., up $1.30, or 5.6%, to $24.49, while First Quantum Minerals, up $1.25, or 4.9%, to $26.95.
Among golds, Kirkland Lake Gold hiked $3.19, or 6.4%, to $53.14, while New Gold gathered 16 cents, or 4%, to $2.06.
In the consumer staple sector, Loblaw Companies gained $1.45 or 1.8%, to $83.89, while George Weston added $2.01, or 1.6%, to $129.51.
Health-care tailed off, however, Tilray sank 84 cents, or 4.2%, to $19.21, while Aurora Canabis doffed 28 cents, or 3.1%, to $8.87.
Techs sank, with BlackBerry bruised 54 cents, or 4%, to $12.92, while Celestica slid 23 cents, or 2.1%, to $10.99.
Communications were also in the red, with Rogers down 14 cents to $63.45, while Telus dropping 12 cents to $27.52.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said payroll employment fell by 257,500 (or -1.6%) in May, with much of the decline concentrated in service industries in Ontario.
British Columbia is bringing back a mask mandate for the central region of the province amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in the area, less than a month after easing restrictions.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 12.48 points, or 1.4%, to 921.27
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive on the session, as materials strengthened 2.3%, gold brightened 2.1%, and consumer staples bettered themselves 0.8%.
The four laggards were weighed most by health-care, off 1.6%, information technology, sliding 0.6%, and communications, down 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose to record levels on Thursday as investors shrugged off economic data pointing slower-than-expected growth.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off their highs of the day, but still succeeded 153.6 points to 35, 084.53 to a new all-time closing record.
The S&P 500 cleared breakeven 18.51 points to 4,419.15, also reaching a fresh high.
The NASDAQ gained 15.68 points to 14,778.26, amid a drop in Facebook and PayPal shares.
The major averages are on track to end the month higher, with the S&P up 2.8% for July. The NASDAQ and Dow are each up 1.7%.
Shares of Robinhood started trading on the NASDAQ at $38 per share on Thursday, but the stock eventually closed its debut session more than 8% lower $34.82 per share.
PayPal gave back 6.2%, and Facebook lost 4%, after warning of significant growth slowdown as they reported quarterly earnings.
Meanwhile, shares of Ford jumped nearly 4% after the automobile company raised its 2021 outlook after reporting a surprise profit in the second quarter.
Amazon, Pinterest and Anheuser-Busch are set to report earnings Thursday.
U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product accelerated 6.5% on an annualized basis, considerably less than the 8.4% Dow Jones estimate.
Meanwhile, a separate data point showed that 400,000 people filed initial claims for unemployment benefits for the week ended July 24. That level is nearly double the pre-pandemic norm and above a Dow Jones estimate of 385,000.
Many investors were relieved that the Federal Reserve signaled no imminent plans for dialing back asset purchases. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell cautioned that although the economy is making progress toward its goals, it has a ways to go before the central bank would actually adjust its easy policies.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys sagged, lifting yields to 1.27% from Wednesday’s 1.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices grabbed $1.20 to $73.59 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices leaped $28.70 to $1,828.40 U.S. an ounce.
