Stocks in Toronto were slightly into positive country early Thursday, though losses in the health-care field overrode much of the gains by consumer discretionary and industrials.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 10.42 points to open Thursday at 16,381.97
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.12 cents to 79.82 cents U.S.
BlackBerry and Chinese internet search firm Baidu Inc on Wednesday signed a deal to jointly develop self-driving vehicle technology, sending BlackBerry's Toronto-listed shares up 15 cents to $17.10.
Shaw Communications’ former chief executive, Jim Shaw, died on Wednesday at the age of 60, the Canadian telecom company said in a statement. Shaw shares dipped four cents to $28.60
Suncor Energy and Teck Resources have taken higher stakes in the Fort Hills oil sands mine from partner Total SA, resolving a dispute over building costs.
Suncor shares fell 41 cents to $46.85, while Teck shares gained 27 cents to $33.64.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that its industrial product price index increased 1.4% in November, mainly attributable to higher prices for energy and petroleum products, while its raw materials price index rose 5.5%, primarily due to higher prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back much of what it had gained this short week, dumping 11.25 points, or 1.3%, to kick off Thursday at 878.69
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided, with consumer discretionary and industrials improving 0.5%, and consumer staples better by 0.4%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by health-care slumbering 4.4% after riding high in recent days, energy down 1%, and gold sinking 0.8%
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrial average broke above 25,000 for the first time on Thursday, marking the fastest 1,000-point move in its history, following the release of stronger-than-expected jobs data
The blue-chips roared ahead 159.52 points to 25,082.20, with American Express. J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs rising more than 2%
The S&P 500 acquired 13.11 points to 2,726.17, with financials rising 1.6%.
The NASDAQ composite index gained 16.91 points to 7,082.44
In corporate news, Walgreens Boots Alliance reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations. The company also raised the lower end of its bottom line guidance for fiscal 2018.
Tesla, meanwhile, released fourth-quarter auto delivery numbers that fell short of many Wall Street estimates.
The U.S. private sector added 250,000 jobs in December, ADP and Moody's Analytics reported before the opening bell. Economists had expected a gain of 190,000.
Other economic data released Thursday include the IHS Markik services Purchasing Managers Index, which hit a seven-month low. These reports will be followed by the U.S. Labor Department's monthly jobs report, which is set for release on Friday.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note ducked lower, raising yields to 2.48% from Wednesday’s 2.45%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices tacked on seven cents a barrel to $61.70 U.S.
Gold prices shed two dollars to $1,316.50 U.S. an ounce.
