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 33.65 points to finish Thursday at 16,202.93
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.02 cents to 76.68 cents.
Cenovus Energy shares rose $1.08, or 9%, to $13.09, after the energy producer said it had signed three-year deals with Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway to transport crude.
Imperial Oil climbed 65 cents, or 1.6%, to $42.57.
For their part, CN rose 35 cents to $116.82 while CP was up $1.48 to $276.38.
Tech stocks had a successful day, as Shopify vaulted $3.23, or 1.5%, to $213.93, while Constellation Software gained $22.89, or 2.5%, to $953.60
In the communications field, Rogers Communications gained 71 cents, or 1.1%, to $67.36, while Shaw Communications acquired 40 cents, or 1.6%, to $25.39.
Health-care played the goat among sub-sectors that faltered Thursday, with Aurora Cannabis surrendering 50 cents, or 4.1%, to $11.69, while Canopy Growth sagged $3.72, or 4.2%, to $64.45.
In the real-estate sector, Colliers International Group dropped $1.77, or 1.8%, to $99.66
Utilities were just south of breakeven, particularly Hydro One, down 20 cents, or 1%, to $19.53.
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 plummeted 8.26 points, or 1.2%, to 698.77
Seven of the 12 subgroups ended the session higher, as energy stocks gushed 1.9%, while information technology and communications stocks soared 0.8% each.
The five laggards were weighed most by health-care, ailing 3.2%, real-estate, down 0.5%, and utilities, letting go of 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose for the first time in five days on Thursday as gains in Apple led tech shares higher.
The Dow Jones Industrials came way off its highs of the day, but still 54.65 points in the green to close Thursday at 26,439.93
The S&P 500 added 8.03 points to 2,914
The NASDAQ gained 51.6 to 8,041.97
Apple rose more than 2.1% 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 1.9% 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 regained lost strength, lowering yields back to Wednesday’s 3.05%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices prospered 66 cents to $72.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $11.10 to $1,188 U.S. an ounce.
