Stocks Climb Toward the End of Q2
Canada's main stock index edged higher on Thursday, helped by gains in heavyweight mining shares, while investors weighed U.S. President Donald Trump's latest criticism of the Federal Reserve Chair that revived worries over the central bank's independence.
The TSX Composite Index grabbed 87.98 points Thursday to 26,654.30
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.41 cents to 73.34 cents U.S.
Copper Capstone Copper was up 67 cents, or up 8.5%, to $8.54, while Teck Resources jumped $3.72, or 7.1%. Ero Copper, up $1.32, or 7.1%, to $23.06.
Investors have been soothed by a ceasefire between Israel-Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would likely seek a commitment from Iran to end its nuclear ambitions at talks next week.
Meanwhile, Trump on Wednesday called Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell "terrible" and said he has three or four people in mind as contenders for the top job.
In company news, Brookfield Asset Management said it would sell its Australian retirement home operator Aveo to The Living Company for A$3.85 billion ($2.5 billion U.S.).
The company’s stock lost eight cents to $74.56.
On matters macroeconomic, Statistics Canada reported the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—was little changed in April (-6,200), following two consecutive declines in February and March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.04 points to 723.76.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups gained, with materials soaring 1.2%, industrials prospering 0.6%, and gold better by 0.5%.
The four laggards were weighed by information technology, down 1%, while consumer discretionary and telecom stocks, each fell 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks advanced on Thursday as the S&P 500 was within striking distance its all-time highs set earlier in the year.
The Dow Jones Industrials zoomed 305.58 points to 43,288.11.
The much-broader index climbed 41.34 points to 6,133.50.
The NASDAQ Composite tacked on 148.3 points to 20,121.86.
The S&P 500 traded about 0.3% below its intraday record high of 6,147.43 reached in February. It’s also near its closing all-time high of 6,144.15.
The index has jumped more than 20% since hitting a closing low in April at the peak of the U.S. tariff scare. Trade pressures have eased since then, but some on Wall Street are skeptical that the recent market momentum will carry on.
Initial jobless claims for the week ending June 21 pulled back to 236,000, which was below the 244,000-job consensus estimate. The data is indicative of a still-strong economy that seems to be holding up.
Tensions in the Middle East seemed to ease after Trump said Tuesday that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was in effect. Though the president accused both countries of violating the agreement, saying he’s “not happy” with either of them, the deal has since appeared to hold. The U.S. is planning to meet with Iran next week.
Prices for the 10-year treasury were static, keeping the yield at 4.28%.
Oil prices gained 90 cents to $65.82 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $5.60 to $3,337.50 U.S. an ounce.
