Equities in Toronto seesawed on Thursday as investors weighed quarterly earnings and braced for the unveiling of a U.S. tax bill and President Donald Trump’s decision on the next Federal Reserve chair.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index squeezed higher 12.57 points, improving only slightly on Wednesday’s all-time record to 16,041.90
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.35 cents to 77.92 cents U.S.
Cenovus Energy reported a smaller third-quarter loss on Thursday as its purchase of ConocoPhillips' Canadian oil-sands assets more than doubled production. Cenovus began Thursday up 38 cents, or 2.9%, to $13.39.
Hudson's Bay Co. said on Wednesday it had received a bid for its German department store chain Kaufhof from Signa Holding, the Austrian property and retail group that owns Karstadt, another German retail chain.
Bay stores lost 24 cents, or 2%, to $12.05.
CIBC cut the rating on Brookfield Renewable Partners LP to neutral from outperformer. Brookfield units declined $1.09, or 2.5%, to $42.72.
Barclays raised the price target on Whitecap Resources to $11.00 from $10.00. Whitecap shares gave back six cents to $9.55.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said on Wednesday that while monetary policy decisions will have an effect on the Canadian dollar, oil prices will have the biggest long-term impact on the currency.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 3.61 points to 792.95
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups moved higher in the first hour, as telecoms picked up 0.7%, information technology was 0.6% to the good, and consumer staples moved up 0.5%
The four laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 1.8%, utilities, sliding 0.6%, and consumer discretionaries, fading 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded lower on Thursday as Wall Street awaited key announcements regarding tax reform and the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones industrial average slumped 65.09 points to 23,369.92, with Home Depot leading decliners.
The S&P 500 dipped 11.33 points to 2,568.03, from Wednesday’s all-time high, with consumer discretionary leading decliners. Newell Brands, was the worst performer on the S&P 500, sliding more than 20%, on weaker-than-expected earnings.
The NASDAQ faded 11.14 points to 6,716.53 from Tuesday’s record
Congress is expected to release details about a tax reform bill later on Thursday. President Donald Trump touted this as "the biggest tax event in the history of our country" on Tuesday.
Investors also waited to see who will be the next Fed chair. Trump is expected to make his announcement later on Thursday, with most expecting the president to tap Fed Governor Jerome Powell for the position.
Wall Street also kept an eye on earnings after tech giant Facebook posted better-than-expected quarterly results. Facebook reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.59, well above the expected $1.28.
Companies set to report after Thursday’s close include Apple, Starbucks and CBS.
Overall, earnings have mostly outperformed expectations this season, adding to the stock market's already strong gains for the year. As of Thursday morning, nearly 74% of the companies that have reported have surpassed earnings expectations
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were up, lowering yields to 2.34% from Wednesday’s 2.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped two cents a barrel to $54.28 U.S.
Gold prices gained $6.60 an ounce to $1,283.90 U.S.
