Canada's commodity-heavy main stock index rose on Thursday, riding on gains in gold and oil prices, while upbeat earnings from Canadian Natural Resources and encouraging economic data added to an upbeat mood.
The S&P/TSX Composite index came off its highs of the morning, but still sat 35.91 points in the green to pause for lunch at 21,301.01
The Canadian dollar slid 0.30 cents to 80.48 cents U.S.
Canadian Natural Resources reported a third-quarter profit on Thursday that beat analysts' estimates, helped by a recovery in oil demand and higher output, and the company said it would increase its dividend.
Shares in Natural Resources lost 43 cents by noon to begin the day at $52.15.
Barrick Gold gained 12 cents to $23.21, despite reporting an 18% drop in third-quarter profit from the prior three-month period.
Spin Master jumped $5.81, or 13.9%, to $47.71, while apparel maker Gildan Activewear hiked $3.87, or 8.1%, to $51.40.
On the economic beat, the country posted a trade surplus of $1.86 billion in September as imports fell faster than exports
The United States, Canada and 18 other countries committed at the COP26 climate summit on Thursday to stop public financing for fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of next year, and steer their spending into clean energy instead.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was down half a point to 983.77.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher midday, with consumer staples jumping 1.7%, consumer discretionaries up 1.6%, and gold brightening 1%
The three laggards were information technology, tumbling 1.9%, health-care scaling back 1%, and and financials off 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose for a sixth day in a row on Thursday as investors took solace in the Federal Reserve’s patient stance on raising interest rates, while stronger-than-expected economic data also boosted sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 73.79 points from Wednesday’s all-time record to 36,083.79.
The S&P 500 gained 15.84 points to add to Wednesday’s all-time high at 4,676.41
The NASDAQ Composite added 110.72 points to 15,912.49, also topping the previous record.
The S&P 500 is up 1.3% for the week, pushing the S&P 500's year-to-date return up to 24% as the benchmark enters a seasonally strong part of the year for markets.
Qualcomm rallied nearly 13% following an earnings beat propelled by a 56% surge in smartphone chip sales. The company also provide strong guidance for the fourth quarter.
MGM shares gained nearly 2% after the casino operator announcing plans to sell the operations of its Mirage casino in Las Vegas to another operator. The company noted that no sales agreement had been reached and it did not mention any possible buyers.
Yet Moderna shares cratered 16% after the drugmaker slashed its Covid-19 vaccine revenue outlook.
Roku was under pressure, falling more than 4% after the streaming platform reported disappointing third-quarter revenue.
The central bank said it will begin to slow its bond-buying program later this month, signaling that the economy can now handle an unwinding of pandemic stimulus. Investors had long anticipated the move and liked that the Fed did not signal it would be any more aggressive than necessary in raising interest rates once the bond tapering was finished next year.
On the data front, U.S. jobless claims totaled 269,000 for the week ended Oct. 30, the lowest pandemic-era total and better than the 275,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.
October’s hotly anticipated jobs report will be released on Friday. Consensus estimates call for 450,000 jobs added, according to Dow Jones. Non-farm payrolls increased by 194,000 in September, far short of the 500,000 estimate.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys jumped, lowering yields to 1.55% from Wednesday’s 1.61%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $1.89 to $82.75 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices prospered $31.40 to $1,795.30 U.S. an ounce.
