A volatile day ended in positive regions for the major stock indexes in North America Thursday, led by resource and tech issues.
The TSX popped 374.63 points, or 1.1%, to conclude Thursday at 34,501.96, yet another all-time high for the index.
The Canadian dollar gathered 0.03 cents at 73.09 cents U.S.
Among after-the-bell results on Wednesday, specialty label maker CCL Industries' fourth-quarter revenue missed estimates. CCL shares ended Thursday down 22 cents to $88.79.
Design and consulting firm Stantec reported quarterly profit above estimates. Stantec shares tacked on $6.84, or 5.5%, to $130.
Among banks in Canada, Royal Bank of Canada shares fell $5.07, or 2.1%, to $232.14, even as the lender's fourth-quarter profit beat estimates, while CIBC took on $3.99. or 2.9%, to $141.84, and Toronto Dominion Bank hiked $2.18, or 1.6%, to $135.14 after a rise in quarterly profit.
Canadian Utilities' shares fell $1.09, or 2.3%, to $46.77, after reporting a decline in quarterly profit, sending utilities stocks down 0.1%.
Apparel maker Gildan's shares declined $2.98, or 3.1%, to $94.55, after quarterly results.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—decreased by 35,400 (-0.2%) in December, following little change in November.
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was down 28,300 (-0.2%) in December.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange barreled ahead 19.77 points, or 1.8%, to 1,106.69.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher on the day, with gold shinier 2.1%, while industrials and information technology each grabbed 2%.
The three laggards proved to be health-care, sliding 2.1%, telecoms, descending 0.4%, consumer staples, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 pulled back on Thursday as the latest results from tech titan Nvidia and software giant Salesforce weren’t enough to boost the broader market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average came back from negative readings throughout the day to add 17.36 points to 49,499.51.
The much broader index lost 37.24 points to 6,908.89.
The NASDAQ cratered 273.69 points, or 1.2%, to 22,878.83.
Nvidia shares fell more than 5%, even after the chip giant posted a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat. The stock suffered its worst day since April. Other chip stocks such as Broadcom, Lam Research, Western Digital and Applied Materials also slid.
On the flip side, Salesforce — which has been one of the biggest victims of recent artificial intelligence disruption fears — rose 4% after the software company’s latest quarterly results beat on the top and bottom lines. However, the company issued a disappointing fiscal 2027 revenue forecast.
Along with software, other areas of the market moved higher in the session, including the financial, energy and real estate sectors. Notably, stocks such as JPMorgan Chase, Exxon Mobil and CBRE Group were among the winners.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 4.01% from Wednesday’s 4.05%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices inched up nine cents to $65.51 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices skidded $13.50 to $5,212.70 U.S. an ounce.
