Stocks in Toronto hit a record high on Thursday, helped by easing tensions in the Middle East, while the Chinese confirmation of an interim trade deal next week also supported investors' risk appetite.
The TSX Composite Index piled on 72.09 points to 17,239.91
The Canadian dollar slid 0.31 cents to 76.40 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Pembina Pipeline, which jumped $2.11, or 4.4%, to $50.12 after pipeline operator Kinder Morgan said it had sold Pembina's 25 million shares, which it had received when Pembina bought Kinder Morgan Canada.
Baytex Energy fell seven cents, or 3.7%, the most on the TSX, to $1.84, while the second-biggest decliner was Encana, off 10 cents, or 1.7%, to $5.78.
On the economic front, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's seasonally-adjusted annual rates of housing starts in Canada fell 3% from a month earlier to 197,329 units in December 2019 from an upwardly revised 204,300 in November and missing market estimates of 210,000
Moreover, Statistics Canada reported that building permits’ total value decreased 2.4% to $8.1 billion in November. Declines were reported in six provinces, with the largest decrease in Ontario (-5.7% to $3.2 billion).
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange deleted 1.77 points to 576.14
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, as health-care sprinted 2.2%, information technology improved 2.1%, and consumer discretionary marched ahead 1%.
The four laggards were weighed most by energy, down 0.6%, while materials and communications each shed 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose to record highs on Thursday as tensions between Iran and the U.S. eased for the time being, with tech shares outperforming.
The Dow Jones Industrials soared 232.92 points to 28,978.01, within inches of 29,000 for the first time.
The S&P 500 improved 20.8 points to 3,273.85.
The NASDAQ hiked 79.41 points to 9,208.65, to yet another all-time high.
Apple shares jumped 2.2% to a record high after Chinese government data showed that iPhone sales rose 18% in December in the country.
The S&P 500 tech sector rose more than 1%, led by a 3.8% gain in AMD shares. The chipmaker rose after an analyst at Mizuho Securities upgraded them to buy from neutral, citing a potentially stronger server market in 2020.
Goldman Sachs climbed 2.2% to boost the Dow after Bank of America upgraded the bank to buy from neutral, citing an attractive valuation and the benefits of a possible global economic rebound. Boeing, meanwhile, gained 2.4% after President Donald Trump said he doesn’t believe a 737 crash in Iran was due to a mechanical error.
Wall Street also digested strong employment data on Thursday, which helped lift sentiment. Weekly jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 214,000 from 223,000. That’s better than the expected print of 220,000.
Thursday’s jobless claims data follows stronger-than-expected private payroll numbers released Wednesday. ADP and Moody’s Analytics said U.S. private payrolls increased by 202,000 in December, topping a Dow Jones estimate of 150,000.
Those numbers precede the U.S. Labor Department’s release of its monthly jobs report on Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the U.S. economy added 160,000 jobs last month.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury slipped a mite, raising yields to 1.89% from Wednesday’s 1.87%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 30 cents to $59.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $9.70 to $1,550.50 U.S. an ounce.
