Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday, recouping some of the previous session's losses, as investors awaited key U.S. and domestic labour market data for cues on future monetary policy.
The TSX hiked 141.04 points to pause midday at 32,276.53.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.3 cents to 72.13 cents U.S.
Market sentiment this week has been largely shaped by developments in Venezuela, home to the world's largest oil reserves, where a potential increase in production could increase competition for Canadian oil companies.
Shares of MDA Space jumped $1.54, or 5.7% to $28,68, after the space and defense technology company said it has been selected by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency for SHIELD, a program to expand the country's homeland missile defense.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported Canada's monthly international trade in services surplus widened from $0.4 billion in September to $0.5 billion in October. Overall, imports of services declined 1.2% to $19.6 billion, and exports were down 0.4% to $20.1 billion.
In other news, Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to visit China next week as Canada tries to forge new trade partnerships in the face of crippling tariffs in its main market, the U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange removed 7.41 points to 1,028.77.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive noon Thursday, with health-care haler 1.4%. consumer staples better by 1.2%, and consumer discretionary stock climbing 1.1%.
The three laggards were industrials, down 0.7%, gold, paling 0.5%, and materials, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Thursday, while the NASDAQ Composite came under pressure as investors moved away from technology stocks.
The 30-stock index recovered 308.93 points to 49,305.01.
The S&P 500 index nicked ahead 1.47 points to 6,922.40
The NASDAQ demurred 132.53 points to 23,451.75.
Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia was among the names investors exited, trading down more than 2%. Fellow AI play Oracle pulled back by nearly 2%, while iPhone maker Apple dropped more than 1%, on pace for its seventh day of losses.
Defense stocks were a bright spot of the day, as key names rallied after President Donald Trump called for a $1.5-trillion defense budget in 2027 — a massive increase from the $901 billion approved by Congress for 2026. Northrop Grumman jumped more than 3%, and Lockheed Martin gained around 5%. Additionally, RTX advanced more than 1%, and Kratos Defense popped 18%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, pointing yields up to 4.17% from Wednesday’s 4.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.15 to $57.14 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices resurfaced $6.70 to $4,469.20.
