Equities in Toronto opened broadly higher on Thursday, led by higher energy stocks, bolstered by rebounding oil prices.
The S&P/TSX composite index leaped 128.19 points to open Thursday at 15,342.59
The Canadian dollar faded 0.15 cents to 79.55 cents U.S.
Bombardier expects its long-delayed CSeries passenger jet to receive certification in 2015, enabling the aircraft to start operating soon afterwards, a company executive said on Thursday. Bombardier shares were flat at $2.60
Yamana Gold Inc plans to make its Brio Gold unit a publicly listed company in the third quarter to realize the unit's "considerable value," the Canadian gold producer said on Wednesday. Yamana shares opened Thursday six cents higher, or 1.3%, to $4.75.
Canaccord Genuity raised the rating on Cameco Corp. to buy from hold. Cameco shares hiked 61 cents, or 3.4%, to begin the session at $18.81.
National Bank Financial cut the rating on Delphi Energy to sector perform from outperform. Delphi shares took on a penny to $1.66.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that municipalities issued building permits worth $6.1 billion in February, edging down 0.9% from the previous month. This was the second consecutive monthly decline. Lower construction intentions in Quebec, Ontario and
Alberta were responsible for the decrease at the national level.
StatsCan’s new housing price index crept up 0.2% in February, after a 0.1% drop in January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 5.78 points to 694.66
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by mid-morning, with energy stronger by 1.7%, health-care 1.3% better, and telecoms 0.9% to the good.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by global base metals, down 0.6%, gold, off 0.3%, and materials, sliding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range on Thursday as investors digested earnings reports and looked for more signals on the timing of an interest rate hike.
The Dow Jones Industrials eked higher 5.70 points to 17,908.21
The S&P 500 index slid 0.02 points to 2,081.88. The NASDAQ index gained 7.01 points to 4,957.83
Costco reported a 2% drop in March comparable store sales, a slightly larger decrease than the consensus forecast of a 1.2% decline.
On the earnings front, Alcoa, the former Dow component, reported adjusted quarterly profit of 28 cents U.S. per share, two cents above estimates, though revenue was below analyst forecasts. CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said Alcoa's growth compared to a year earlier was due entirely from new businesses.
JPMorgan Chase and Intel post earnings next Tuesday as quarterly reports get underway.
Before Thursday's open, Walgreens Boots Alliance reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.18 U.S. per share, beating estimates of 95 cents U.S. Revenue, however, was below Street forecasts. The company revealed plans to close about 200 U.S. stores, and put other streamlining measures into place that will save $1.5 billion U.S. annually by the end of 2017.
Jobless claims came in at 281,000, slightly above lowered expectations, but an increase from last week.
Wholesale trade data came in slightly higher than expected, up 0.3%. However, weak sales provide less incentive for wholesalers to build their inventories.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries hesitated, raising yields to 1.92% from Wednesday’s 1.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired 77 cents to $51.19 U.S.
Gold prices dipped $9.40 to $1,193.70 U.S.
