Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday, as data showed the country added more jobs in April, but gains were capped by energy stocks tracking a fall in oil prices.
The TSX muscled up 111.97 points to reach noon hour Thursday at 19,529.
The Canadian dollar sprang up 0.52 cents to 82.95 cents U.S.
Canadian Pacific Railway rose $2.14, or 2.3%, to $97.19, after reiterating its commitment to buy Kansas City Southern and asked the U.S. railroad operator to reject rival Canadian National Railway's takeover offer.
CN shares were down $1.51, or 1.2%, to $127.48.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Lightspeed POS, which jumped $9.95, or 14.3%, to $79.56, and ATS Automation Tooling Systems, which rose two dollars, or 6.9%, to $30.80, after posting strong quarterly revenue.
Teck Resources fell 85 cents, or 3%, the most on the TSX, to $27.60, and Turquoise Hill Resources, down 17 cents to $20.67, was the second-biggest decliner.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said new home prices increased 1.9% in April at the national level, with prices up in 22 of the 27 census metropolitan areas surveyed.
Moreover, a report from ADP showed Canada added 351,300 jobs in April despite a tightening of COVID-19 restrictions, led by gains in the leisure and hospitality, as well as the trade, transportation and utilities sectors.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange picked up 9.84 points, or 1.1%, to 946.45.
All but one of the 12 subgroups remained positive midday, with information technology vaulting 2.5%, gold mightier by 1.2%, and consumer stapled gaining 1%.
Energy was the lone laggard, off 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, rebounding from three straight days of losses as technology shares staged a comeback, while the latest jobless claims totaling a fresh pandemic-era low also boosted sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 232.6 points to pause for lunch Thursday at 34,128.64
The S&P 500 picked up 41.58 points, or 1%, to 4,157.26
The NASDAQ leaped 206.85 points, or 1.6%, to 13,506.59, as the so-called FAANG stocks all traded higher.
Despite Thursday’s comeback, the Dow is still down 1% on the week. The average lost about 1% last week as the market rally to highs stalls. The S&P 500 has fallen 0.6% this week, while the NASDAQ is on pace to eke out a small gain for the week.
Shares of Cisco dropped 3% Thursday after the tech conglomerate issued weaker-than-expected earnings guidance for the current quarter.
Stocks’ rebound on Thursday followed a roller-coaster session on Wall Street triggered by a sudden drop in bitcoin, which led to a sharp sell-off in many speculative areas of the market. Cryptocurrency-linked shares, including Tesla, Coinbase and MicroStrategy, led the market decline as bitcoin tanked as much as 30% at one point Wednesday.
After touching nearly $30,000 at its low, bitcoin made back some of those losses later Wednesday. The stock market closed well off its lows as bitcoin rebounded.
On Thursday, the cryptocurrency was slightly higher at around $40,000, according to Coin Metrics. Coinbase shares were higher in early trading Thursday after Wedbush said to buy the crypto-exchange despite the volatility.
Investors cheered a better-than-expected jobless claims report on Thursday. The number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits for the week ended May 15 came in at 444,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday. Economist surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting 452,000 new claims.
On Wednesday, investors also digested the Federal Reserve’s minutes from April that hinted at considering tapering its asset purchase programs in upcoming meetings.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys shot up, lowering yields to 1.63% from Wednesday’s 1.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved lower 28 cents to $63.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $1.50 to $1,380 U.S. an ounce.
