Stocks in Canada’s largest centre recovered and then some Thursday from ugly losses over the last couple of days, lifted largely by energy stocks, which found their momentum after a week-long struggle.
The S&P/TSX shot up 333.51 points, or 1.8%, to finish Thursday at 19,063.17.
The Canadian dollar heightened 0.37 cents to 77.07 cents U.S.
Among the energy leaders, Advantage Oil & Gas acquired $1.02, or 13.4%, to $8.66, while Crescent Point Energy vaulted $1.11, or 13.3%, to $9.45.
The consumer discretionary stocks also shone, with Aritzia surging $2.37, or 7.1%, to $36.01, while BRP Inc. took on $4.87, or 6%, to $85.92.
Tech stocks also strengthened, with HUT 8 Mining grabbing 30 cents, or 16.6%, to $1.99, while Converge Technology Solutions gained 34 cents, or 6.8%, to $5.38.
Communications proved the only negative sector as Quebecor ditched 47 cents, or 1.7%, or $27.91, while Shaw dropped 55 cents, or 1.5%, to $36.43.
On the economic slate, Canada's merchandise exports rose 4.1% in May, a fifth consecutive monthly increase. Meanwhile, imports decreased 0.7%.
As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the world widened from $2.2 billion in April to $5.3 billion in May, the largest trade surplus since August 2008.
Elsewhere, the IVEY Purchasing Managers Index shrank to 62.2 in June, a far cry from May's 72, and far below the 71.9 figure in June 2021.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 11.85 points, or 2%, to 614.20.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups moved up, with energy barreling 4.6% higher, while consumer discretionary advanced 3.1%, and information technology hiked 2.7%.
Only communications stocks were negative, and only 0.2% at that.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as Wall Street built on its modest winning streak ahead of a key jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials spiked 346.87 points, or 1.1%, to 31,384.55.
The S&P 500 strengthened 57.54 points, or 1.5%, to 3,902.62. The S&P 500, which sits about 20% off its record high, achieved its first four-day winning streak since late March.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 259.49 points, or 2.3%, to 11,621.35.
Energy stocks were among those leading the gains on Thursday, reversing some recent losses as oil prices rebounded. Exxon rose 3.2%, and Occidental Petroleum gained nearly 4%.
Freeport-McMoRan added 6.7% and Nucor rose 4.3% as commodity stocks climbed.
Chipmakers boosted the tech sector after South Korea’s Samsung posted an 11% jump in profit and 21% surge in revenue for the latest period on strong sales of memory chips.
Shares of AMD picked up 5.2%, and Nvidia gained 4.8%. On Semiconductor jumped more than 9%.
Another notable mover was GameStop, which popped 15% after the video game retailer said a four-for-one stock split was approved by its board.
Solar stocks also outperformed, with Sunrun gaining more than 7%.
Meanwhile, Levi Strauss is set to report earnings Thursday after the bell. Many investors and strategists have pointed to the busy earnings calendar later this month as a key test for markets.
On the economic front, initial jobless claims and continuing claims both ticked up slightly last week. The U.S. trade deficit for May came in slightly higher than expected at $85.5 billion but was still down month over month.
The U.S. Labor Department’s official jobs report is due out on Friday.
Treasury prices dropped, bringing yields up to 3% from Wednesday’s 2.92%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $3.74 to $102.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $3.10 to $1,739.60 U.S. an ounce.
