Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday as energy shares were boosted by a 1% rise in oil prices ahead of U.S. sanctions against major crude exporter Iran.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 78.61 points to greet noon at 16,247.89
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.07 cents to 76.63 cents.
Cenovus Energy shares rose 79 cents, or 6.5%, to $12.80 after the energy producer said it had signed three-year deals with Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway to transport crude.
Canadian National Railway rose 56 cents to $117.03 while Canadian Pacific Railway was up $1.61 to $276.51.
The financials sector gained boosted by gains in shares of Royal Bank of Canada – which took on 51 cents to $104.89 -- and Toronto-Dominion Bank, inching upwards 29 cents to $79.51.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Cameco Corp, which jumped $1.85, or 14.5%, to $14.64, after a favorable ruling from the Tax Court of Canada.
The second biggest advancing stock was Wheaton Precious Metals, which rose $1.16, or 5.4%, to $22.85.
Detour Gold Corp fell 31 cents, or 2.9%, to $10.47, followed by Torex Gold Resources, down 34 cents, or 2.9%, to 11.09.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $997 in July, a decrease of 0.4% from the previous month. Compared with 12 months earlier, earnings increased 3.0%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange backed off 2.94 points to 704.09
All but three of the 12 subgroups were higher, as energy stocks gushed 1.3%, information technology ticked higher 1.1%, and communications stocks soared 0.9%
The three laggards were weighed most by health-care, sagging 1.9%, while real-estate and gold each subsided 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded higher on Thursday as gains in Apple led tech shares higher.
The Dow Jones Industrials popped 158.45 points to break for lunch Thursday at 26,543.73, as Apple outperformed.
The S&P 500 muscled up 18.64 points to 2,924.61, as tech and communications led eight of 11 sectors higher.
The NASDAQ regained 72.06 to 8,062.43
Apple rose more than 2% after analysts at J.P. Morgan initiated the stock with an overweight rating. The analysts see strong growth for Apple's services offerings, noting the company is "transforming from a hardware company to a services company faster than investors had expected."
Amazon, meanwhile, gained 1.6% after Stifel hiked its price target on the stock to $2,525, implying a near 30% surge from Wednesday's close.
Facebook, Alphabet and Twitter also traded higher, lifting the broader tech space and the overall equity market.
Thursday's gains come as investors digest the Federal Reserve's latest decision on monetary policy. The central bank raised rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, its third rate hike of the year. The Fed also removed the word "accommodative" from its policy statement.
Meanwhile, trade tensions continue to escalate, as President Trump criticized Canada for the slow pace of discussions concerning the overhaul of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The president said he had recently vetoed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's invitation for a one-on-one meeting — a claim that prompted a spokesman of Trudeau's government to state that no such meeting had been requested.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, thus raising yields to 3.07% from Wednesday’s 3.05%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices prospered 51 cents to $72.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $11.90 to $1,187.20 U.S. an ounce.
