Canada's main stock index retreated on Thursday from a record high scaled in the previous session as material stocks tracked weakness in gold prices following strong U.S. jobs data.
The TSX listed lower 42.61 points to open Thursday at 19,928.54.
The Canadian dollar docked 0.43 cents to 82.62 cents U.S.
TD Securities raised the target price on Laurentian Bank of Canada to $49.00 from $44.00. Laurentian shares doffed 53 cents, or 1.2%, to $44.47.
Cormark Securities raised the target price on Scotiabank to $93.00 from $88.00. Scotiabank shares lost 17 cents to $81.21.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said a multi-lateral agreement on the taxation of tech giants was "within reach" and it should go hand-in-hand with a deal on a global minimum corporate tax rate.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 6.52 points to 967.02
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided Thursday morning, with health-care gaining 2.1%, consumer staples ahead 0.7%, and communications up 0.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, slumping 2.9%, materials slouching 2.6%, and energy, worse off 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as the market continued to struggle to reach a new all-time high amid heightened speculative trading activity, while investors shrugged off better-than-expected labour market data.
The Dow Jones Industrials thundered lower 151.2 points at 34,449.18
The S&P 500 brushed off 22.53 points to 4,185.59.
The much-broader index sits about 1.5% from its all-time high reached earlier last month, but it has been stuck around these levels for about the last two weeks. The S&P 500 is up 11% this year so far.
The NASDAQ dwindled 130.61 points, or 1%, to 13,625.72.
Stocks that have run up in anticipation of the economy reopening this year were weak. Marriott, Carnival and Gap all traded in the red.
Shares of General Motors rose 3% after the company said it expects its results for the first half of 2021 to be “significantly better” than its prior guidance.
Most of the market action centered on meme stock and theater chain AMC Entertainment. The stock tumbled as much as 30% after practically doubling in the prior session. The movie theater chain said it may offer and sell from time to time up to 11.55 million shares of its Class A common stock.
The action in meme stocks seems to be uneven on Thursday. Bed Bath & Beyond fell more than 20%, while BlackBerry rallied more than 10%, bringing its week-to-date gains to over 70%.
On the data front, private job growth for May accelerated at its fastest pace in nearly a year as companies hired nearly a million workers, according to a report Thursday from payroll processing firm ADP.
Total hires came to 978,000 for the month, a big jump from April’s 654,000 and the largest gain since June 2020. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 680,000.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys sank, lifting yields to 1.62% from Wednesday’s 1.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained four cents to $68.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dimmed $40.90 to $1,869 U.S. an ounce.
