The TSX continued to climb mid-afternoon Thursday, lifted by firmer health-care stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index recovered 37.66 points to conclude Thursday at 14,770.64
The Canadian dollar was treading water by the end of the day, after spending much of it ahead against the U.S. dollar, to 81.77 cents U.S.
Health-care led the gaining groups, as Extendicare leaped 24 cents, or 3.4%, to $7.35, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals hiked $4.73, or 1.7%, to $286.46.
The runners-up were in real-estate, where Chartwell Residential Residence units spiked 65 cents, or 5.9%, to finish at $11.66, while Brookfield Asset Management shares jumped $1.37, or 3.3%, to $43.63.
Utilities were also victorious, as ATCO Ltd. moved ahead 72 cents, or 1.8%, to $40.29, and Fortis Inc. gained 63 cents, or 1.8%, to $36.06.
Information technology stocks settled, however, as BlackBerry shares faded 25 cents, or 2.2%, to $11.15.
Energy stocks waned, too, as Trilogy Energy shed 46 cents, or 7%, to $6.11, and Enerflex dipped 59 cents, or 4.1%, to $13.95.
Silver Bear Resources was the most actively traded stock, gaining half a cent to 5.5 cents, on 7.7 million shares.
On the economic ledger, Statistics Canada reported that there were 521,300 people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in April, up only 0.5% from March and down 0.4% from 12 months earlier.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange improved 1.05 points to 682.62.
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive by the end of the day, health-care gaining 2.2%, real-estate sprawling 2% upward, and utilities clicking 1.3%
The three laggards were information technology, down 0.7%, energy, off 0.6%, and financials, sliding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed about 1% higher on Thursday, with the NASDAQ topping its intraday high from March 2000. The Fed's dovish statement from Wednesday afternoon boosted investor sentiment amid the Greece debt talks.
The Dow Jones Industrials zoomed 180.10 points, or 1%, to 18,115.84, with 3M leading all blue chips higher
The S&P 500 index gained 20.62 points to 2,121.06, with health-care leading all 10 sectors higher.
The NASDAQ climbed 68.07 points to 5,132.95, to end above its closing high set in late May and its all-time record high of 5,132.52 set in intraday trade on March 10, 2000, during the tech bubble.
In corporate news, Oracle reported adjusted quarterly profit of 78 cents U.S. per share, eight cents below Street forecasts. Revenue also missed estimates, with the software maker hurt by a stronger dollar. It did, however, see sales growth in its cloud-based offerings.
The stock closed nearly 5% lower.
Apple is generating sizable profits from sales of Apple Watch bands, according to data seen by Reuters. Many buyers of the watch are buying more than one band, according to data provided by research firm Slice Intelligence.
Barclays downgraded Southwest Airline's stock to underweight from overweight, saying the stock is now trading at too large a premium to its peers.
Economically speaking, the May consumer price index showed an increase of 0.4%, its largest increase in more than two years as gasoline prices surged.
Weekly jobless claims came in at 267,000 for a larger-than-expected decline. The Conference Board's leading index for May and the Philadelphia Fed's business outlook indicator for June are also on the calendar.
The Philadelphia Fed index for June posted 15.2, above May's read of 6.7. Leading indicators for May showed an increase of 0.7%
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries lagged, raising yields to 2.33% from Wednesday’s 2.31%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices climbed 48 cents a barrel to $60.40 U.S.
Gold prices leaped $24.80 at $1,201.60 U.S. an ounce.
