Stock markets in Toronto found their way into the green midday Thursday, as shares of energy and gold producers jumped with commodity prices, offsetting a decline in BlackBerry Ltd.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 51.47 points to greet noon at 14,135.90
The Canadian dollar regained 0.15 cents to 83.83 cents U.S.
A Reuters report, citing a person familiar with the matter and documents, said on Wednesday that Samsung recently talked to BlackBerry about buying the smartphone maker for as much as $7.5 billion U.S. BlackBerry shares, which shot up nearly 30% in the previous session, were down 16.4% at $12.55.
Switzerland's surprising decision to abandon its more than three-year-old cap on the franc hit global markets. The move in particular benefited the bullion price, which jumped to a four-month high. Shares of gold miners climbed.
Goldcorp jumped 6.6% to $26.12, and Barrick Gold rose 2.8% to $12.76.
Shares of energy producers gained, with oil prices remaining choppy. Canadian Natural Resources advanced 0.9% to $33.03, and Suncor Energy added 0.4% to $35.01.
In the economic docket, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported that national home sales fell 5.8% from November to December. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 7.9% above December 2013 levels, with some 481,162 homes traded hands in 2014 — the highest annual level in seven years.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 3.41 points to 663.10
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were gainers by noon, with gold soaring 7.2%, materials up 3.8%, and consumer staples advancing 1.2%
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by information technology, down 2.9%, industrials, off 1.3%, and consumer discretionaries, sliding 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, extending a four-session losing stretch, as investors considered the price of crude and disappointing quarterly results from large U.S. banks.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 70.98 points to 17,356.11, with JP Morgan Chase and Exxon Mobil leading blue-chip declines.
The S&P 500 slumped 12.08 points to 1,999.19, with financials and energy hardest hit and materials and utilities the best performers among its 10 major industry groups.
The NASDAQ index skidded 39.82 points to 4,599.50.
Bank of America dropped after the bank reported a 14% fall in quarterly profit.
Citigroup also declined as it posted a slim fourth-quarter profit. Target shares rose after the discount retailer should it would discontinue operations in Canada.
Economic reports had wholesale prices falling 0.3% in December, and a larger-than-expected number filing for jobless benefits last week, up by 19,000 to 316,000.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, dropping yields to 1.80% from Wednesday’s 1.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped 80 cents per barrel to $47.68 U.S.
Gold prices moved forward $26.60 an ounce to $1,261.10 U.S.
