Canada’s main stock index was due for a slide, after several high-flying days.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 120.94 points, or nearly 1%, to close Wednesday’s session at 12,585.05
The Canadian dollar lost 0.07 cents to 99.61 cents U.S. early Thursday.
On the economic agenda, Statistics Canada reported this morning that new housing prices rose 0.1% in March, following a 0.2% increase in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 7.90 points Wednesday to 969.32
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were flat Thursday morning, after closing in record territory the previous trading session.
Futures for the Dow Industrials stepped back 12 points, or 0.1%, to 15,050. Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 2.7 points, or 0.2%, to 1,626, and futures for the NASDAQ fell 7.75 points, or 0.3%, to 2,954.
Both the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 hit new highs on Wednesday. Each of these indexes have rallied by roughly 15% since the start of the year.
In corporate news, DISH Network released quarterly results before the opening bell, showing a decline in sales and profit.
After the market closed Wednesday, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations and announced plans to extend its partnership with Starbucks. Green Mountain shares rose sharply in extended trading.
Tesla shares also surged 18% in pre-market trading the day after the electric car maker reported quarterly earnings and revenue that blew past analyst expectations.
News Corp. shares jumped as well after the media conglomerate said sales rose in the first quarter and reported earnings that met expectations.
Shares of Monster Beverage sank in extended trading after the company's quarterly earnings missed estimates. The energy drink maker, which has been criticized for marketing its highly caffeinated products to children, blamed the drop in earnings on legal costs and other short-term factors.
Groupon shares rose 11% as the daily deal site reported narrowing losses.
After a solid monthly jobs report last week, investors head into Thursday awaiting the government's weekly data on initial jobless claims. The numbers will give the markets a sense about the current state of the U.S. recovery.
At 10 a.m. ET, the Census Bureau will release its monthly report on wholesale inventories.
European markets were mostly lower in midday trading. The CAC 40 in France was the worst performer with a dip of nearly 1%.
Asian markets ended lower. The Hang Seng lost 0.1%, while the Shanghai Composite and Nikkei 225 declined 0.6%.
Oil prices subsided 72 cents to $95.90 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gave back eight dollars to $1,465.70 U.S.
