Equities in Canada’s largest market rose on Thursday after energy stocks gained on the back of higher oil prices, only a day after the central bank left its key interest rate unchanged. Gold and other resource stocks heightened, too.
The TSX Composite index strengthened 21.58 points to stop for lunch hour Thursday at 20,023.85
The Canadian dollar eked higher 0.096 cents to 82.64 cents U.S.
The Bank of Canada on Wednesday left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low 0.25%, as expected, and said the economy would "rebound strongly" as vaccinations against COVID-19 picked up.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Transcontinental Inc., which jumped 8.1%, after several brokerages, including Scotiabank and National Bank of Canada, raised their price targets on the stock. Transcontinental shares galloped 79 cents, or 3.3%, to $24.98.
Tilray Inc. led decliners on the TSX with a fall of $1.44, or 5.5%, and Westport Fuel was the second biggest decliner, down 38 cents, or 5.2%, to $6.90.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange settled 1.38 points to 975.46.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups during the morning, with gold surging 1.6%, materials better by 0.9%, and consumer staples 0.7% to the good.
The four laggards were weighed most by health-care, sagging 2.3%, while information technology and consumer discretionary issues each dropped 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 climbed to an all-time high on Thursday as investors shrugged off a key inflation report that showed a bigger-than-expected increase in price pressures.
The Dow Jones Industrials hiked 111.17 points midday to 34,558.31.
The S&P 500 gained 15.42 points to 4,234.97, overtaking its May 7 high after the market traded sideways for a month.
The NASDAQ gathered 52.75 points to 13,964.50.
UPS shares rose about 1% after an upgrade from JPMorgan. Shares of Boeing and Delta Air Lines were also higher.
Video-game retailer and meme stock GameStop fell 9% even after the company tapped former Amazon executive Matt Furlong to be its next CEO and said that sales rose 25% last quarter. The company also said it may sell up to five million additional shares.
Consumer prices for May accelerated at their fastest pace since the summer of 2008 amid the economic recovery from the pandemic-triggered recession, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
The consumer price index, which represents a basket including food, energy, groceries and prices across a spectrum of goods, rose 5% from a year ago. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting a gain of 4.7%.
A separate report released Thursday showed that jobless claims for the week ended June 5 came in at 376,000, versus a Dow Jones estimate of 370,000. The total still marked the lowest of the pandemic era.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were unchanged, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 1.49%.
Oil prices regained 34 cents to $70.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices flopped $1.20 to $1,894.30 U.S. an ounce.
