Equities in Canada’s largest market rose slightly on Thursday in choppy trading, with investors assessing a mixed set of quarterly earnings from top domestic lenders.
The TSX gained 38.83 points to close out Thursday at 25,680.04
The Canadian dollar was better by 0.23 cents to 71.29 cents U.S.
Bank of Montreal reported a drop in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday due to increased provisions for potential loan losses, while Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported a rise as it set aside smaller funds for the same purpose.
BMO shares climbed $5.58, or 4.2%, to $139.73, while those for CIBC gained $3.97, or 4.4%, to $93.54.
Meanwhile, Toronto-Dominion Bank is also expected to report quarterly results before the bell. TD shares sagged $3.80, or 6.7%, to $52.80.
Energy led the parade of winners, with Advantage Energy marching 31 cents, or 3.6%, to $9.00, while IPCO captured 55 cents, or 3.6%, to $15.82.
Among consumer staples, Loblaw Companies grew $6.34, or 3.4%, to $193.17, while George Weston rallied $5.79, or 2.5%, to $236.75.
In the utilities sector, Transalta Corp. tacked on $1.56, or 9.5%, to $65.35, while Capital Power jumped $3.47, or 5.6%, to $65.35.
Gold stocks, though, weighed on the market, with Barrick Gold fading 72 cents, or 2.9%, to $23.73, while B2Gold slipped 14 cents, or 3.6%, to $3.79.
In consumer discretionary stocks, Restaurant Brands International docked $2.14, or 2.1%, to $97.85, while Teck Resources doffed 96 cents, or 1.5%, to $63.44.
In materials, MAG Silver lost 30 cents, or 1.4%, to $21.58, while Linamar dipped 76 cents, or 1.2%,
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada our merchandise exports increased 1.1% and imports rose 0.5% in October. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $1.3 billion in September to $924 million in October.
Moreover, it appears traders have fully priced in a rate cut by the Bank of Canada next week but remain conflicted on the magnitude.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 9.21 points, or 1.5%, to 608.29.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher by the close, as energy and consumer staples each climbed 1%, and utilities fell 0.8%.
The five laggards were weighed by gold, down 1.2%, while consumer discretionary stocks sank 0.6%, and materials dipped 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks suffered on Thursday as investors awaited more key economic data this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial index dropped 248.33 points to 44,765.71
The S&P 500 subsided 11.38 points to 6,075.11.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite dipped 34.86 points to 19,700.26.
Bitcoin traded more than 3% higher, breaking above $100,000 for the first time. The move led crypto-related stocks such as MicroStrategy higher 0.7% while Coinbase rose 3%.
This comes as first-time filings for jobless benefits for the week ending Nov. 30 rose by 9,000 to 224,000, higher than the Dow Jones estimate for 215,000. On the other hand, the level of continuing claims, which run a week behind, edged lower by 25,000 to 1.871 million.
Traders on Thursday looked ahead to key U.S. employment data on Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast the U.S. economy added 214,000 jobs in November.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury recovered, lowering yields to 4.18% from Wednesday’s 4.19%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost nine cents to $68.45 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold dropped $22.60 an ounce to $2,653.60 U.S.
