Equity markets advanced on Thursday to its highest level in two weeks as investors cheered the European Central Bank's stimulus measures and an unexpected rate cut by the Bank of Canada.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 132.75 points to greet noon at 14,693.17
The Canadian dollar eased 0.21 cents to 80.83 cents U.S.,
Financials climbed as Bank of Montreal added 1.9% to $78.31, and Bank of Nova Scotia advanced 1.4% to $63.67.
Shares of energy producers rose as Canadian Natural Resources Ltd gained 0.8% to $36.12, and Suncor Energy was up 0.3% at $36.52.
The price of bullion strengthened after the ECB's action and pushed up shares of gold miners. Barrick Gold Corp jumped 2% to $16.00
In corporate news, Royal Bank of Canada said it will buy City National Corp, a U.S. lender serving high-net worth clients, in a $5.4-billion U.S. deal. RBC shares shed 2.4% to $74.08.
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported this morning that those of us drawing unemployment insurance benefits during November registered at 490,500, or 0.3% less than October.
The agency added that, compared with November 2013, the number of beneficiaries dropped 28,800, or 5.5%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.80 points to 681.85.
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups gained ground, led by real-estate and materials, each up 1.9%, and gold, prospering 1.8%
Only energy stocks missed the festivities, sagging 0.8%
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday, extending gains into a fourth session, after the European Central Bank unfurled expanded stimulus and companies including Southwest Airlines posted upbeat quarterly earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials bolted up 112.95 points to 17,667.23, with Goldman Sachs Group leading blue-chip gains that extended to 21 of 30 components.
The S&P 500 gained 12.99 points to 2,045.11, with financials leading sector gains and telecom faring the most poorly among its 10 major industries..
The NASDAQ index jumped 40.33 points to 4,707.75
Southwest rose after the carrier posted quarterly earnings and revenue above estimates. Union Pacific advanced after the railway reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, and KeyCorp jumped after the regional bank tallied fourth-quarter results that surpassed expectations.
Stock futures had retained solid gains after U.S. data had 307,000 Americans filing for jobless benefits last week, down 10,000.
ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank would make monthly bond purchases of as much as $70 billion U.S. starting in March, and running through September of next year.
Draghi's announcement came after the ECB held benchmark rates unchanged at record lows.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sagged, lifting yields to 1.88% from Wednesday’s 1.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices demurred $1.40 per barrel to $46.38 U.S.
Gold prices gained $12.00 an ounce to $1,305.70 U.S.
