Stocks in Canada’s largest centre made up Thursday for three straight days worth of losses… and made no mistake about it, with energy and health-care rumbling forward.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index leaped 191.68 points, or 1.3%, to conclude Thursday at 15,356.05
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.07 cents at 78.41 cents U.S.
Energy stocks displayed most muscle, as Suncor Energy galloped $2.08, or 4.7%, to $46.15, and Canadian Natural Resources was up $1.81, or 4.4%, to $43.25.
Among heavy traders were health-care stocks such as Aurora Cannabis, vaulting 71 cents, or 9.3%, to $8.33, while Canopy Growth Co, gathered 83 cents, or 2.9%, to $28.44.
One of the largest percentage gainers on the TSX was Corus Entertainment, which rose $1.16, or 19.4%, to $7.15, after reporting better-than-expected quarterly profit. Elsewhere in telcoms, BCE climbed 24 cents to $55.08.
Tech stocks took a bit of licking, however, with BlackBerry down 11 cents to $13.33, while Constellation Software slid $5.19 to $870.77.
Consumer staples were also negative, as Restaurant Brands International docked $1.72, or 2.3%, to $72.19.
Federal Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland says Mexico, Canada and the United States have made good progress in their bid to modernize the NAFTA trade pact but still have work to do.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said this country’s merchandise trade deficit totaled $2.7 billion in February, widening from a $1.9-billion deficit in January. Imports rose 1.9% and exports increased 0.4%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 6.78 points to 770.56
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, as energy surged 4.3%, health-care recovered 2.6%, and telecoms gained 1.5%.
The two laggards proved to be information technology, down 0.6%, and consumer staples, down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday as tech shares rose following a roller coaster ride in the previous trading day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed 240.92 points, or 1%, to 24,505.22, with Boeing and DowDuPont as the best-performing stocks.
The S&P 500 moved ahead 18.15 points to 2,662.84, with materials leading 10 sectors higher.
The NASDAQ Composite index gained 34.44 points to 7,076.55
Tech helped lead the move higher, with Facebook jumping 2.7% and gains of more than 1.5% in Netflix and Amazon.
Facebook's move came after CEO Mark Zuckerberg told reporters he has not seen a noticeable change in user behavior in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices also rose 2.6% after Stifel upgraded them to a buy from hold.
Markets have been on edge in recent sessions amid concerns of a potential trade war between China and the U.S. On Wednesday, China announced fresh tariffs on 106 U.S. products, including cars, whisky and soybeans — less than 24 hours after the U.S. administration issued a list of Chinese imports that it would target.
The news initially sent stocks lower before bouncing back as the Trump administration tried to play down trade-war worries.
In economic news, weekly jobless claims totaled 242,000, more than the expected 225,000. Still, claims remained near their lowest levels since the 1970s.
Wall Street also looked ahead to Friday's jobs report. Economists polled by Reuters expect the U.S. economy to have added 198,000 jobs in March.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell, raising yields to 2.83% from Wednesday’s 2.80%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 27 cents a barrel to $63.64 U.S.
Gold prices faded $10.50 to $1,329.70 U.S. an ounce.
