Equities in Toronto faded midday Thursday, despite tentative signs of a rebound in domestic trade activity, while U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's new aggressive strategy to support the U.S. economy further bolstered sentiment.
The TSX dropped 46.5 points, to reach noon Thursday at 16,743.47.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.07 cents to 76.17 cents U.S.
The financials sector gained 1% as Toronto-Dominion tacked on 32 cents to $66.69, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce jumped $2.50, or 2.5%, to $104.56, after both lenders topped analysts' expectations for the third quarter.
The largest percentage gainer in the TSX was Tricon Residential, which jumped 66 cents, or 6.7%, to $10.56, after Blackstone REIT agreed to invest $300 million in the rental housing company.
BRP rose $2.99, or 4.4%, to $71.79, after the all-terrain vehicle maker reported a surprise second-quarter profit.
Equinox Gold fell 54 cents, or 3.2%, the most in the TSX index, to $16.39, while the second-biggest decliner was RealMatters, down $1.24, or 4.4%, to $27.07.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that the number of employees receiving pay or benefits from their employer, measured in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours, rose by 666,500, or 4.9%, in June.
The agency goes on to say the numbers follows three consecutive months of declines -- March (-0.9 million), April (-1.9 million) and May (-0.5 million) -- and brought the total payroll employment change since February to a decrease of 2.7 million (-15.7%).
Moreover, the agency said Canada's current account deficit narrowed to $8.63 billion in the second quarter from a revised $13.22 billion deficit in the first quarter, on a lower trade deficit on both goods and services.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange squeezed ahead 0.05 points to 729.82.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, with gold retreating 2.7%, materials faltering 2.6%, and energy paling 0.7%.
The four gainers were led by communications, up 0.8%, financials, improving 0.7%, and real-estate, advancing 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Thursday after the Federal Reserve unveiled a new framework that could keep interest rates lower for a longer period of time.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 276.54 points or 1% at 28,608.46, piling on gains which overcame all the losses heaped on the index throughout 2020.
The S&P 500 continued its record-breaking binge, gaining 21.96 points over Wednesday’s all-time peak to register Thursday noon at 3,500.09.
The NASDAQ Composite added another 62.59 points to Wednesday’s all-time record close at 11,727.65.
Bank stocks rose broadly. Citigroup gained 1.9%. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo were all up more than 1.8% as well.
Shares of Abbott Laboratories jumped 9.7% after the company won authorization for a $5 rapid coronavirus test.
Investors also pored through fresh economic data to gauge the health of the economy. The U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday the number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time totaled one million last week, in line with expectations. It marked the second consecutive week that weekly jobless claims tallied more than one million.
Meanwhile, second-quarter Gross Domestic Product was revised to a 31.7% decline, versus a 32.5% drop estimated. The initial reading on July 30 showed a 32.9% fall in economic activity. While the latest reading is slightly better, it still marks the largest quarterly plunge on record.
In a speech, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank formally agreed to a policy of "average inflation targeting." In other words, the central bank will let inflation run "moderately" above its 2% goal for "some time."
The central bank has for years tried to keep inflation at 2%, a rate of price increase that policymakers consider both manageable and indicative of a healthy economy. But ever since the financial crisis, inflation in the U.S. has more often than not lagged the Fed’s target.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury wavered, boosting yields to 0.73% from Wednesday’s 0.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 47 cents to $42.92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $24.80 to $1,927.70 U.S. an ounce.
