Canada's main stock index found its feet and started running by midday on Thursday, as upbeat earnings from companies including Shopify countered losses in energy shares on the back of lower crude prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite gathered 83.18 points to greet noon at 16,489.74
The Canadian dollar ditched 0.10 cents to 75.73 cents U.S.
Shopify rose $38.05, or 9.1%, to $457.46, after the e-commerce company raised its full-year revenue forecast and reported a quarterly profit that handily beat Wall Street estimates, as the investments to attract customers to its product offerings paid off.
Thomson Reuters’ shares rose $2.84, or 3.2%, to $91.48, after the news and information provider raised its sales and core profit outlook for 2019 and 2020.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Spin Master, which jumped $4.76, or 12.7%, to $42.26, after the company's quarterly profit topped estimates.
Element Fleet Management followed closely behind with a rise of 48 cents, or 4.8%, to $10.52, after its second-quarter revenue beat expectations.
Hudbay Minerals plunged $1.21, or 18.8%, the most on the TSX, to $5.20, after a court ruling barred the company from proceeding with construction at its Rosemont project in Arizona.
The second-biggest decliner was Bombardier, down 30 cents, or 13.2%, to $1.97, after the plane and train maker lowered its full-year core earnings and free cash flow forecasts.
On the economic front, the Markit Purchasing Managers Index registered 50.2 in July, up from 49.2 in June and above the 50.0 no-change value for the first time since March
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stayed negative 0.15 points to 591.51
Eight of the 12 Toronto subgroups maintained their strength by lunch hour, with information technology vaulting 3.6%, gold 2.3% brighter, and consumer staples 1.8% stronger.
The four laggards were weighed worst by energy, tailing 1.8%, health-care, sicker by 0.9%, and consumer discretionary stocks, fading 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Thursday as investors increased bets on the Federal Reserve cutting rates for a second time later this year.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 233.56 points – after its sharpest loss since May, to 27,097.83
The S&P 500 recovered 26 points to 3,006.38
The NASDAQ added 114.2 points, or 1.4%, to 8,289.62
Since 1950, August has been the second-worst month for the S&P 500, having averaged a loss of 0.1% in August.
Tech shares led the rally as the sector gained 2.2%. Western Digital was the best-performing stock in the sector, jumping 6.8%. Other tech-related stocks like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet also traded higher.
Hopes for another rate cut increased after IHS Markit’s U.S. manufacturing PMI dropped to its lowest level since September 2009. IHS said employment in the sector fell to its lowest level since 2013. Muted client demand and a slower increase in production weighed down the manufacturing space.
The Institute for Supply Management’s reading on the manufacturing sector fell to 51.2 in July, its lowest level since August 2016. Economists expected a print of 52.
The Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday — its first cut in more than a decade — citing "global developments" along with "muted inflation" as reasons for easing monetary conditions.
But Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters in a news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee’s rate decision that the central bank’s rate cut was a “midcycle adjustment,” hinting that further rate cuts later this year were not a sure thing.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose sharply, lowering yields to 1.96% from Wednesday’s 2.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices removed $1.67 to $56.91 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $17.70 to $1,426.10 U.S. an ounce.
