Equities in Toronto opened at a record high on Thursday, as the signing of an initial U.S.-China trade deal offered some relief to investors, while shares of Bombardier tumbled to a near four-year low on a profit warning.
The TSX Composite Index gained 31.61 points to open Thursday at 17,415.17.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.03 cents to 76.66 cents U.S.
Bombardier said on Thursday it expects full-year results to be lower than previously forecast, hurt partly by challenging rail projects.
Bombardier shares tumbled 60 cents, or 33.5%, to open Thursday at $1.19.
Magna International on Thursday said it expects lower vehicle sales in 2020, hurt by a stronger dollar, the sale of its fluid pressure and controls business and lower light-vehicle output in Europe. Magna shares gained 90 cents, or 1.3%, to $70.32.
Barrick Gold said on Thursday it expects fourth-quarter gold production to be higher than the third quarter, benefiting from strong output from its Turquoise Ridge gold mine in Nevada. Barrick shares lost three cents to $23.35.
RBC assumes coverage on Computer Modelling Group with a sector perform rating and target price of $8.50. Computer Modelling added 12 cents, or 1.5%, to $8.29.
RBC assumes coverage on Evertz Technologies with sector perform rating and target price of $19. Evertz shares lost eight cents to $17.92.
Citigroup raised the target price on Imperial Oil to $31.00 from $30.00. Imperial shares gained 38 cents, or 1.1%, to $35.45.
On the economic slate, the Canadian Real Estate Association said MLS sales edged down by 0.9% in December.
This ended a streak of monthly gains that began last March. Activity is currently about 18% above the six-year low reached in February 2019 but ends the year about 7% below the heights recorded in 2016 and 2017
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange tacked 2.77 points to 579.78
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups started the day in the green, with health-care popping 2.8%, energy clicking 0.9%, and consumer discretionary progressing 0.7%.
The two laggards were gold, down 1.1%, while materials sank 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Thursday to hit fresh record highs after Morgan Stanley reported quarterly figures that easily topped analyst expectations while investors solid data on the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials increased 154.07 points to 29,184.29,
The S&P 500 gained 16.76 points to 3,306.05, broke above 3,300 for the first time.
The NASDAQ hiked 71.97 points to 9,330.67.
Morgan Stanley’s three main businesses — investment management, wealth management and trading — all produced more revenue than expected in the previous quarter. The company’s stock jumped 7%.
So far, the earnings season is off to a solid start. Around 7% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings thus far. Of those companies, 76.5% have posted better-than-expected expectations.
Expectations about the earnings season were muted prior to this week. Analysts expected S&P 500 earnings to have fallen by 2% in the fourth quarter.
Strong economic data also lifted sentiment on Wall Street. Weekly jobless claims unexpectedly dropped by 10,000 to 204,000. Economists expected a print of 216,000. Meanwhile, retail sales climbed by 0.3% in December, matching expectations.
Stocks closed well off their session highs on Wednesday after President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a “phase one” trade deal in Washington, D.C. Under the agreement, China is set to buy an additional $200 billion in U.S. goods over the next two years.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising yields to 1.8% from Wednesday’s 1.78%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 36 cents to $58.17 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $1.10 to $1,552.90 U.S. an ounce.
