The TSX Composite Index triumphed 240.92 points, or 1.7%, to end the day and a short week at 14,166.63. The index improved on the week 1,228.33 points, or 9.5%
The Canadian dollar soared 0.28 cents to 71.58 cents U.S.
Markets in North America will be closed Friday for Good Friday.
Gold proved the champion among gaining groups, as B2Gold hiked 62 cents, or 12.1%, to $5.74, while Seabridge Gold triumphed $1.60, or 12.5%, to $14.95.
Materials were also stronger, as MAG Silver spiked $1.45, or 12.2%, to $13.33, while Pan American Silver tacked on $2.36, or 10.3%, to $25.19.
Among consumer discretionary issues, MTY Food Group advanced $4.89, or 25.9%, to $23.77, while Spin Master acquired $2.08, or 12.4%, to $18.84.
Among consumer staples, one of the laggards, Empire Company retreated $1.90, or 6.1%, to $29.50, while the North West Company dipped 88 cents, or 3.7%, to $22.93.
Energy stocks lost ground, as MEG Energy ditched 29 cents, or 9.6%, to $2.74, while Cenovus Energy went south 25 cents, or 6.1%, to $3.86.
Communications stocks also fell, with Rogers off 69 cents, or 1.1%, to $60.14, while Cogeco Communications lost 79 cents to $94.71.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada said the economy lost 1,011,000 jobs in March, raising the unemployment rate 2.2 percentage points to 7.8%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 13.08 points, or 3.2%, to 421.97, a hike on the week of 38 points, or 9.1%.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups gained on the day. Gold brightened 8.9%, materials surged 6.3%, and consumer discretionary stocks gained 4.1%.
The three laggards were consumer staples, down 2.2%, energy, off 1.6%, and communications, sliding 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose sharply on Thursday, wrapping up a big week of gains, after the Federal Reserve gave more details on how it will support the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed 285.80 points, or 1.2%, to 23,719.37
The S&P 500 jumped 39.84 points, or 1.5%, to 2,789.82.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 62.67 points to 8,153.58
The Dow was up more than 12.9% for the week after Thursday’s open, putting the 30-stock average on pace for its biggest weekly gain since 1938.
For the week, the S&P 500 surged 12.1%. That was its biggest one-week gain since 1974, when it rallied more than 14%. The NASDAQ had its best week since 2009, jumping 10.6%. The Dow soared more than 12% for one of its biggest weekly gains on record.
The U.S. stock market will be closed Friday due to Good Friday.
JPMorgan Chase jumped nearly 9% to lead the Dow higher on Thursday. Dow Inc gained 5.1% while Goldman Sachs advanced 4.1%. Financials were the best-performing sector in the S&P 500, gaining more than 5%.
Stocks came off their highs after Democrats in Congress blocked a Republican effort for unanimous support for $250 billion in small-business aid.
The Fed announced as slew of programs, including loans geared towards small and medium sized businesses, totaling up to $2.3 trillion. The central bank also gave more details on its plans to buy investment-grade and junk bonds.
Wall Street’s weekly surge comes amid increasing hope that the situation around the coronavirus was improving. In recent days, the number of new daily confirmed cases has dropped globally and in the U.S., New York State has also reported a decline in its virus-related hospitalization rate.
Thursday’s announcement was enough to outweigh another massive jump in weekly jobless claims.
More than six million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. Economists expected an increase of five million. The latest data built on the record-shattering prior two readings of 6.6 million and 3.3 million.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 0.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $1.78 to $23.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $48.70 to $1,733.00 U.S. an ounce.
