Canada’s main stock index rose on Thursday as news of a potential monetary stimulus initiative in Europe and higher oil prices supported gains in every major sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 173.92 points, or 1.3%, to close Thursday at 13,878.11
The Canadian dollar gained 0.21 cents at 76.31 cents U.S.
Laval, Que.-based drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. extended losses after Quebec’s Autorite des Marches Financiers said in an e-mailed statement allegations about the company are “worrisome” and it is checking to see if they ran afoul of any regulations. Valeant erased a fifth of its market value Wednesday after Citron Research published a report examining the drug maker’s pricing practices.
Valeant slid 6.6%, or $10.16, to $144.05, bringing its loss for the week to 33.5% over the past five days, and 60% from an Aug. 5 all-time high.
In the report, Citron, a stock commentary site published by short seller Andrew Left, claimed that Valeant had recorded fake sales to phony customers, using closely associated specialty pharmacies to help drive the business.
Valeant called Citron’s accusations "erroneous" and denied the report.
The rise and rapid fall in the shares of Valeant is eerily similar to those of past market stalwarts BlackBerry and Nortel Networks.
BlackBerry, previously known as Research In Motion, has not recovered since losing its dominance in the smartphone market while Nortel filed for Bankruptcy protection in 2009.
Rogers Communications Inc. gained 5.1% to $52.25, extending a two-year high, after Canada’s largest wireless operator added more customers than projected in the third quarter. Sales grew to $3.38 billion, compared with projections for $3.32 billion.
Teck Resources Ltd. advanced 5.1% to $8.79. Excluding a non-cash writedown, the company reported earnings that were better than expected.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales rose for the fourth consecutive month, advancing 0.5% to $43.6 billion in August.
The increase was led by higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.
Excluding this sub-sector, retail sales were flat. Sales increased in four of 11 sub-sectors, representing 56% of retail trade.
Meanwhile, the number of recipients of employment insurance dropped in August, by 7,900 compared with July, down 1.4% to 536,800.
On a year-over-year basis, the number of EI beneficiaries increased by 35,600 or 7.1%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved higher 3.31 points Thursday to 547.75
All 13 TSX subgroups finished the day higher, led by metals and mining, up 3.5%, telecoms, up 2.3%, and gold, soaring 2.1%.
Even health-care stocks, stuck in negative territory for much of the session, improved 1.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Thursday, as Wall Street digested the European Central Bank's rates decision, economic data and a fresh batch of earnings.
The Dow Jones industrial average skyrocketed 320.33 points, or 1.9%, to 17,489.16, with McDonald's leading advancers and American Express the greatest laggard.
The blue chips index also recorded its best day since Sept. 8.
The S&P 500 picked up 33.61 points, or 1.7%, to 2,052.55, with materials leading nine sectors higher and health care lagging.
The NASDAQ index popped 79.93 points to 4,920, above the 4,900 mark for the first time since August 19.
Dow components McDonald's, 3M and Caterpillar all reported before the bell.
McDonald's posted earnings per share and revenue that beat expectations, sending the stock up about 8%, and accounting for about 55 points of the Dow's gains. The stock was also on track for its best day since October 2008.
3M reported mixed earnings, while Caterpillar missed on both lines.
Companies scheduled to report after the bell include Amazon.com, Alphabet and Microsoft.
In corporate news, CIT Group said CEO John Thain will retire in March, and will be replaced by Ellen Alemany, a long-time banking executive.
Lululemon Chief Product Officer Tara Poseley is leaving the company after two years.
On the data front, investors digested weekly jobless claims and the Chicago Fed National Activity index.
Weekly jobless claims came in at 259,000, below the expected 265,000. The September Chicago Fed national activity index came in at -0.37, slightly higher than the -0.39 August reading.
The FHFA House Price index rose 0.3% in August.
Other economic data points included September existing home sales, which rose 4.7% to 5.55 million.
The ECB kept interest rates unchanged and ECB President Mario Draghi said "short-term inflation expectations have declined but more medium- to long-term inflation expectations, after some decline following our last meeting have now recovered and are basically unchanged since then," ECB President Mario Draghi said in a news conference."
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries crept up, lowering yields to 2.02% from Wednesday’s 2.03%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices rebounded 25 cents a barrel to $45.45 U.S.
Gold prices slid $1.18 to $1,166.00 U.S. an ounce.
