Equities in Canada’s largest market maintained their winning ways Thursday, clambering back from a brutal October which saw huge selloffs on markets the world over.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended Thursday ahead 122.87 points at 15,150.15
The Canadian dollar improved 0.41 cents to 76.41 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX were Hudbay Minerals, which jumped $1.14, or 22.1%, to $6.31, after reporting quarterly results and announcing deal to buy Mason Resources Corp., whose stock soared more than 100% after the buyout deal.
Agnico Eagle Mines galloped $1.98, or 4.3%, to $48.48.
Shining brightest among gold issues was Barrick Gold, up $1.01, or 6.1%, to $17.50, while Goldcorp hiked 68 cents, or 5.8%, to 12.57.
In health-care, Canopy Growth gathered 14 cents, to $48.57, while Bausch Health Companies triumphed $2.48, or 8.2%, to $32.60.
Consumer staples didn’t enjoy the same fortunes as their cohorts as Saputo slid $1.41, or 3.5%, to $38.70, while Loblaw Companies staggered 80 cents, or 1.2%, to $65.04.
In the industrial sector, Canadian Pacific Railway skidded $2.01 to $267.96, while rival Canadian National dropped 99 cents to $111.55.
Financials also demurred, with Royal Bank off 18 cents to $95.74, while Scotiabank off a penny to $70.64.
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 3.59 points to 644.95
Eight of the 12 subgroups were positive by the close, with materials better by 3.8%, gold reaching higher 3.6%, and health-care, haler by 1.6%,
The four laggards were weighed most by consumer staples, down 0.7%, industrials off 0.2%, and financials, fading 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks closed higher on Thursday as a rebound from sharp losses last month continued after comments from President Donald Trump indicated potential progress in U.S.-China trade relations.
The Dow Jones Industrials hurtled higher 264.98 points, or 1.1%, to 25,380.74, as DowDuPont outperformed, bringing its three-day gains to more than 900 points.
The S&P 500 added 28.63 points, or 1.1%, to 2,740.37, with materials leading.
The NASDAQ gained 128.16 points, or 1.8%, to 7,434.06, ahead of Apple's quarterly earnings report.
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 strong gains. The S&P 500 posted back-to-back gains of more than 1% to end last month.
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. Shares of DowDuPont rose 8.1%, its biggest one-day gain since Dec. 9, 2015. Tech giant Apple is scheduled to report earnings after the bell Thursday. The company's stock gained 1.5%.
Overall, corporate earnings have been mostly better than expected this season. FactSet data show 76.9% of S&P 500 companies that have reported have topped analyst expectations for calendar third-quarter earnings.
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
