Mining stocks drove Canada's main stock index to a seven-week high on Thursday as gold prices surged following a more dovish than expected stance from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index marched ahead 57.62 points to greet noon at 16,569.44
The Canadian dollar grew 0.36 cents to 75.70 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Iamgold Corp., which jumped 36 cents, or 9% and Yamana Gold Inc, which rose 28 cents, or 9.5%, to $3.22.
Hudson's Bay Co recovered from negatives in the morning to gain seven cents to $9.92. Nexgen Energy came out of the hole to gain six cents to $2.08.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported 438,000 Canadians drawing employment insurance in April, up only 1,400 from the month before.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange jumped 7.35 points to pause for lunch at 591.96
Seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups stayed in the green, with gold shining 3.3% brighter, energy gushing 2.5%, and materials stronger by 2.3%.
The five laggards were saddled most by consumer staples, down 1.7%, communications, hesitating 1.1%, and real-estate, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose sharply on Thursday after the Federal Reserve hinted at possible interest rate cuts as soon as next month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average clicked higher 186.60 points to 26,690.60, to within 1% of its record high, led by Caterpillar and Exxon Mobil.
The S&P 500 gained 18.69 points to 2,945.15, hitting a record high as the tech and energy sectors outperformed.
The NASDAQ Composite came off its highs of the morning, but remained positive 51.84 points to 8,039.17
Netflix and Amazon were among the best performers, rising more than 1% each. Facebook, Apple and Alphabet also traded higher.
Energy shares got a boost from higher oil prices, as shares of Exxon Mobil gained 1.6%.
The Fed said Wednesday it stands ready to battle growing global and domestic economic risks as they took stock of intensifying trade tensions and growing concerns about inflation.
Most Fed policymakers slashed their rate outlook for the rest of the calendar year by approximately half a percentage point in the previous session, while Chairman Jerome Powell said others agree the case for lower rates is building.
Market participants viewed the overall tone from the U.S. central bank as more dovish than expected. Traders are now pricing in a 100% chance of a rate cut next month
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained sharply, causing yields to fade to 1.99% from Wednesday’s 2.03%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices perked $3.19 to $56.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shone brighter $40.30 to $1,389.10 U.S. an ounce.
