Canadian stocks continued their recovery by midday Thursday from the mess left behind Christmas Eve. The main index was on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain in nearly three years, helped by gains across all major sectors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index restored 251.81 points, or 1.8%, to greet noon Thursday at 14,032
The Canadian dollar was down 0.39 cents at 73.28 U.S.
Markets in Canada closed down 1 p.m. ET, to remain shuttered Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Top percentage gainers on the TSX were shares of energy company Encana, which soared 76 cents, or 11%, to $7.66, followed by shares of online retailer Shopify, which climbed $12.94, or 8%, to $174.50.
Hudson's Bay Co., fell four cents, or 0.6%, to $7.14.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 3.42 points to 536.33
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher midday, as energy sprinted 4.6%, information technology gained 3.3%, and consumer discretionary stocks added 2.1%.
The one laggard was in gold, down 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded sharply lower on Thursday, giving back some of the strong gains from the previous day, amid renewed tensions between China and the United States.
The Dow Jones Industrials plunged 314.84 points, or 1.4%, to 21,563.61, led by losses in Apple and Microsoft.
The S&P 500 descended 39.62 points, or 1.6%, to 2,428.08, as the energy and tech sectors lagged.
The NASDAQ tumbled 127.55 points, or 2%, to 6,426.81, as shares of tech-related companies like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet all declined at least 1%.
This decline comes after an historic surge on Wall Street. On Wednesday, the Dow rallied to close more than 1,000 points higher, its biggest single-day point gain ever.
The day’s gain also marked the biggest upside move on a percentage basis for the Dow since March 23, 2009, when it rose 5.8 percentage points. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ also notch their best gains since March 23, 2009.
President Donald Trump is reportedly considering an executive order to ban U.S. companies from using equipment built by Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE. This executive order would come at a time when the two largest world economies are trying to strike a permanent trade deal. Earlier this month, China and the U.S. agreed to a 90-day grace period to come up with an agreement.
Shares of trade bellwethers like Caterpillar, Boeing and Deere all fell more than 0.8%.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury moved higher, lowering yields to 2.75% from Wednesday’s 2.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank $1.27 to $44.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $3.90 to $1,276.90 U.S. an ounce.
