Canada's commodity-heavy main stock index hit a record high on Thursday and was on track for its best monthly performance in five, as a rally in gold prices lifted precious metal miners.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index remained buoyant 40.4 points to 22,116.36.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.1 cents to 80.09 cents U.S.
Consumer staples stocks led the charge upward, with Alimentation Couche-Tard grabbing $1.28l, or 2.3%, to $56.58, while Loblaw hiked $1.27, or 1.1%, to $112.43.
Techs were among the heaviest of the laggards, with Absolute Software sagging 30 cents, or 2.7%, to $10.66, while Telus International slid 87 cents, or 2.7%, to $31.39.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported real gross domestic product grew 0.2% in January, attributable to goods-producing industries.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.74 points to 890.26.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground by noon, with consumer staples jetting 1.1%, gold ahead 0.9%, and utilities better 0.8%.
The four laggards were weighed most by information technology and health-care, each sliding 0.5%, and financials, off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were modestly lower on Thursday as traders wrap up a rocky first quarter for Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 132.34 points to pause for lunch at 35,096.47
The S&P 500 faded 12.78 points to 4,589.67.
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 57.42 points to 14,384.85.
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance dropped 6%, weighing on the Dow. The pharmacy chain beat estimates for its fiscal second quarter, though that was due in part to demand for pandemic-related products.
Some tech stocks were under pressure Thursday amid analyst concerns over the PC market going forward. AMD shares slid more than 3% after analysts at Barclays downgraded the stock to equal weight from overweight. Meanwhile, HP Inc and Dell dipped 4.7% and 5.5%, respectively, after being downgraded to equal weight from overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Thursday marks the last trading day of March and of the first quarter. Stocks have rallied in the second half of the month, with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ on pace to finish the month up about 5% each and the Dow up nearly 4%.
However, for the first quarter, the Dow and S&P 500 are both down about 3%, and the NASDAQ is off more than 7%. For all three averages, this will be the first negative quarter since the first quarter of 2020, which marked the start of the COVID pandemic in the U.S.
In Ukraine, Russian forces continued to hold their positions around Kyiv and shell the capital city, according to U.K. intelligence officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin said payments for Russian natural gas will need to be made in rubles, Reuters reported, further complicating energy supply issues for Europe.
On the economic data front, weekly jobless claims came in at 202,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting 196,000.
Personal income rose 0.5%, meeting expectations, while consumer spending rose less than expected.
Core PCE prices, a key inflation measure watched by the Fed, came in at 5.4% growth year over year for February. That was just below the expectations of 5.5%.
Treasury prices gained Thursday, with yields falling to 2.33%, from Wednesday’s 2.34%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices staggered $4.16 to $103.66 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $8.80 to $1,947.80 U.S. an ounce.
