Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday, boosted by gains in shares of metal miners fueled by rally in gold prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index forged ahead 92.63 points to greet noon Thursday at 15,119.91
The Canadian dollar improved 0.28 cents to 76.28 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Hudbay Minerals, which jumped 89 cents, or 17.2%, to $6.06, after reporting quarterly results and announcing deal to buy Mason Resources Corp., whose stock soared more than 100% after the buyout deal.
Norbord, which rose $1.95, or 5.8%, to $35.52, was the second biggest gainer after the wood-based panels maker reported a rise in quarterly sales.
Canadian Natural Resources gained $1.41, or 3.9%, to $37.53 after its quarterly profit more than doubled and beat analysts' estimates helped by higher production and average realized prices.
Encana Corp fell $2.23, or 16.6%, the most on the TSX, to $11.21, after the company said it would buy Newfield Exploration Co for $5.5 billion.
The second biggest decliner was Maxar Technologies, down $1.71, or 8.7%, to $17.97, after multiple brokerages lower their price target on stock after its results on Wednesday.
On the economic beat, IHS Markit Canada said its Purchasing Managers’ Index sagged in October to 53.9, from 54.8 in September.
The latest reading signaled the weakest improvement in manufacturing conditions since January 2017. Softer rates of output and new business growth were the main factors weighing on the headline index in October
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 2.84 points to 644.20
All but three of the 12 subgroups were positive midday, with materials better by 3.1%, gold reaching higher 3%, and consumer discretionary 1.7% to the good.
The three laggards were energy, down 0.8%, while industrials declined 0.1% and financials trickled back 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded higher on Thursday to start off November after comments from President Donald Trump indicated potential progress in U.S.-China trade relations.
The Dow Jones Industrials perked 178.7 points to 25,294.46, as DowDuPont outperformed
The S&P 500 added 15.27 points to 2,727.01, with the materials leading.
The NASDAQ gained 67.21 points to 7,372.11
Trump said in a tweet Thursday that he had a "long and very good conversation" with Chinese President Xi Jinping on trade. He also said meetings between the two at the upcoming G-20 summit are being scheduled.
Thursday's moves come after investors capped off a volatile October with a strong two-day rally that saw the Dow surge more than 650 points.
But despite the recent rally, the Dow closed last month down 5.1%, its biggest one-month fall since January 2016. The S&P 500 lost $1.91 trillion in October, in its worst month since September 2011.
On Thursday, sentiment was lifted by better-than-forecast earnings from DowDuPont and Cigna. Shares of DowDuPont rose 6.7% while Cigna gained more than 2%.
Tech giant Apple is scheduled to report earnings after the bell Thursday. The company's stock slipped 0.3%.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury regained ground, lowering yields to 3.14% from Wednesday’s 3.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices tumbled $1.72 to $63.59 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $18.50 an ounce to $1,233.50
