Equities in Canada’s biggest centre moved skyward Thursday, after the buying momentum in energy and mining stocks continued, given rising commodity prices. Info tech turning positive also helped lift the benchmark index.
The S&P/TSX composite index hiked 87.58 points to end Thursday at 15,392.35
The Canadian dollar climbed 0.64 cents to 82.32 cents U.S.
Metals and mining stocks led the charge, as HudBay Minerals was elevated 61 cents, or 6%, to $10.80.
Energy stocks were flush, particularly Lightstream Resources, up eight cents, or 6.9%, to $1.24, and Legacy Oil and Gas, up 14 cents, or 5.7%, to $2.62.
Gold stocks also acquired new strength, as Detour Gold sprinted up 73 cents, or 6.7% to $11.64, and Goldcorp gained 64 cents, or 2.8% to $23.71.
Meanwhile, financials grew their gains after CIBC rose $1.04, or 1.1%, to $97.04 on the back of a Reuters report that says the lender is in talks with several companies in the U.S. on a potential $2-billion U.S. acquisition transaction.
The most actively traded stock was Mega Uranium, which climbed three cents, or 40%, to 10.5 cents, on 6.4 million shares.
Health-care was left in the negative territory, on a drop of 46 cents, or 0.6%, by Catamaran Corporation to $72.29
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada reported that those on employment insurance rose by 9,900, or 2%, in February to 509.800.
The agency adds that, compared with 12 months earlier, the number of beneficiaries was down 0.7% or 3,500.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stepped forward 1.93 points to 699.48
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher on the day, with metals and mining stocks leaping 2.8%, materials up 2%, and gold better by 1.9%.
The two laggards were health-care, down 0.8%, and real-estate, sliding 0.4%, as consumer discretionaries were unchanged on the day.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed near highs on Thursday, with the Nasdaq at a record, as investors cheered corporate reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials finished in the green 20.42 points – off its highs of the day -- to 18,058.69, with IBM leading advancers and 3M the greatest laggard. The blue chip index came within 1% of its record close in intraday trade before paring gains.
The S&P 500 index moved higher 4.97 points to 2,112.93, with telecommunications leading eight sectors higher and consumer staples and industrials the only two lagging sectors.
The NASDAQ index gained 20.98 to 5,056.06, to set a new, all-time closing record, topping the previous high of 5,048.62 set in March 2000.
Apple closed up nearly 1% to lead the Nasdaq higher ahead of the release of the Apple Watch on Friday. The iPhone maker also posts quarterly results on Monday after the bell.
Leading the blue chips, IBM closed up nearly 3% after spiking more than 3.5% on positive follow-through from its earnings report on Monday. Overall revenue fell 12% in a continuing downward trend, but sales in the cloud and analytics segments rose 60% and 12% year over year, respectively.
In the S&P 500, AT&T jumped more than 4% after reporting earnings after the close Wednesday that beat estimates on revenue that came in slightly below expectations. The telecommunications firm said subscribers switched to other networks at a lower rate. The company also launched a $17.5-billion U.s. six-tranche bond to finance its acquisition of DirecTV.
Dunkin' Brands jumped more than 8.5% after the firm reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue and profit.
3M fell more than 3% after reporting earnings that missed expectations on both the top and bottom line. The company cited the impact of the strong dollar and cut its profit forecast for the year.
General Motors closed down 3.3% after the firm delivered quarterly profit and revenue that missed expectations. Weaker volume in Brazil and Russia hurt sales, as well as the impact of weakening currencies in South America due to the strong U.S. dollar.
PepsiCo delivered quarterly earnings that topped analysts' expectations. However, revenue fell 3.2% to $12.22 billion U.S. in the first quarter ended March 21, from $12.62 billion U.S. a year earlier, largely due to a strong dollar.
After the market close, Amazon.com, Google, Microsoft, Starbucks, Capital One are all due.
Weekly jobless claims showed an increase of 1,000 to 295,000.
New home sales for March came in weaker than expected, at 481,000 in March, versus the 510,000 unit estimate.
Manufacturing PMI showed that growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector dipped more than expected in April, with factory activity showing the slowest momentum since January, according to financial data firm Markit.
The preliminary U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 54.2 in April from the final March read of 55.7. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the April figure would come in at 55.5.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries inched forward, lowering yields to 1.94% from Wednesday’s 1.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.32 to $57.48 U.S.
Gold prices soared $6.90 to $1,193.80 U.S.
