The Toronto stock market looked to improve on Wednesday’s success, brought about largely by a surge in BlackBerry stock, as figures for retail sales and EI benefits rolled in Thursday.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved forward 36.43 points to close Wednesday at 13,988.20
The Canadian dollar plummeted 0.40 cents to 89.78 cents U.S. early Thursday
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales came in for November at $41 billion, or 0.6% higher than the month before, in contrast to a market call for a gain of 0.2%.
StatsCan chalks the hike up to higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers as well as electronics and appliance stores.
The agency also noted that there were 512,300 people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in November, virtually unchanged from October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nosed ahead 0.48 points Wednesday to 980.44.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow was on track for a third day of losses Thursday as investors waited on a batch of earnings reports and searched for reasons to drive markets higher.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slid 71 points, or 0.4%, to 16,246. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 4.8 points, 0.3%, to 1,833.80, and futures for the NASDAQ dipped 4.25 points, or 0.1%, to 3,616.25.
Things get rolling Thursday morning with earnings from McDonald's and Nokia Microsoft and Starbucks will report in the afternoon.
On the economic front, initial jobless claims are due for release this morning, likewise existing home sales.
European markets were mixed in morning trading, with France's CAC 40 up 0.2%. Germany's DAX turned the other way, slipping 0.2%.
Asian markets notched sharp falls following a disappointing report on manufacturing activity in China. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 1.5% and Korea's Kospi lost 1.2%. Japan's Nikkei closed down 0.8%.
Oil prices picked up 34 cents to $97.07 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices added $9.20 to $1,247.80 U.S. an ounce.
