The main stock gauge in Canada hit a fresh 2016 high on Thursday as energy stocks gained despite a slip in oil prices and financial and mining shares also rose.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index powered ahead 98.83 points to greet noon at 13,116.76
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.08 cents to 74.63 cents U.S.
The index pushed above 13,000 for the first time this year on Wednesday as investors shook off worries about global growth amid upbeat data from major economies and signs of a rebound in commodity prices.
Among the most influential gainers was Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, which advanced 8.3% to $32.66, even as it cut its 2016 capital expenditure and reported a sharp fall in profit.
Among gold issues, Goldcorp Inc rose 4.4% to $20.15, and Bank of Nova Scotia advanced 0.9% to $58.26.
In the industrial sector, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc was up 1.9% to $44.89 after posting a better-than-expected adjusted fourth-quarter profit and said it saw profit growth at its core engineering and construction business in 2016.
On the negative side, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc fell 1.8% to $89.15 after the embattled drug maker said a senior executive had resigned, not having been asked to leave.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange picked up 5.81 points to 552.04
Nine of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher, with gold advancing 3.2%, energy 2.7%, and materials 2.3%
The four laggards were weighed most by telecoms, down 0.7%, consumer staples, sliding 0.2%, and information technology, off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower Thursday after service sector reports and ahead of jobs data due Friday morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial average tumbled 59.48 points to 16,839.84, as McDonald's proved the greatest decliner and Caterpillar led advancers.
The S&P 500 slipped 6.3 points to 1,980.15, with health-care leading eight sectors lower and energy and materials leading advancers.
The NASDAQ index fell 20.62 points to 4,682.80
As of Wednesday's close, the major U.S. averages were on pace for weekly gains of 1.5% or more.
The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing survey for February came in at 53.4. The figure was expected at 53, down from 53.5 in January.
Elsewhere on the economic beat, January factory orders rose 1.6%. Durable goods orders were revised slightly lower show a rise of 4.7 percent, versus the prior 4.9 percent increase.
The final February Markit services PMI was 49.7, down from January's final 53.2 print
Ahead of the opening bell, weekly jobless claims came in at 278,000. Revised fourth-quarter productivity declined 2.2%, while unit labour costs rose 3.3%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained back lost ground, lowering yields to 1.83% from Wednesday’s 1.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recouped 21 cents a barrel to $34.87 U.S.
Gold prices grew $15.75 to $1,255.73 U.S. an ounce.
