Markets in Canada’s largest centre spent much of the day in negative territory, and despite strong performances in the industrials and tech sectors, still fell short of breakeven by Thursday’s closing bell.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was negative 8.76 points to close Thursday at 15,410.73
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.43 cents to 74.15 cents U.S.
Industrials led the parade of gainers, with Element Fleet Management soaring 12 cents, or 1.1%, to $10.99, while Bombardier added two cents to $2.18.
In the tech field, BlackBerry flew 22 cents, or 1.5%, to $15.12, while Constellation Software acquired $5.69 to $693.18.
In the consumer discretionary sector, Canadian Tire leaped $1.85, or 1.2%, to $153.27, while Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers inched up seven cents to $42.42.
Energy took a header, however, as MEG Energy dropped 27 cents, or 4.6%, to $5.58, while Crescent Point Energy docked 77 cents, or 5.9%, to $12.26.
In health-care, Canopy Growth went into reverse 30 cents, or 3.8%, to $7.65, while Valeant Pharmaceuticals chucked 11 cents to $17.25.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings were positioned at $966.00 during March, not much different from February, and up 0.9% from March 2016.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 2.53 points to 799.86
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups moved higher by day’s end, as industrials forged ahead 1.1%, information technology gained 0.9%, while consumer discretionary stocks headed up 0.6%.
The five laggards were weighed most by energy, tumbling 2.6%, health-care, sinking 0.8%, and materials, weaker by 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday as Wall Street remained positive about the Federal Reserve's plan to trim its balance sheet, while tech stocks climbed.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 70.06 points to 21,082.48, to within half a percentage point of its all-time high, with UnitedHealth leading advancers and General Electric lagging
The S&P 500 climbed 10.68 points to 2,415.07, rising above its previous record of 2,405.77, with consumer discretionary leading nine sectors higher and energy and materials as the only decliners.
The NASDAQ popped 42.23 points to 6,205.26, climbing over the previous peak of 6,170.16, as Netflix, Alphabet, and Facebook shares all rose. Amazon also rose, nearing the $1,000-per-share mark.
According to the minutes from its May 3 meeting, which were released Wednesday, the Fed sees a system where it will announce cap limits on how much it will allow to roll off each month without reinvesting.
Investors also kept an eye on oil prices after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to extend production cuts by nine months. That disappointed some investors, who had hoped that OPEC might reduce output even further to drain a global glut that has depressed markets for almost three years.
In economic news, jobless claims hit 234,000 last week, rising slightly from the previous week, but remained near their lowest levels in more than 40 years.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note recovered, lowering yields to Wednesday’s 2.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices dropped $2.68 at $48.68 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $2.40 at $1,257.10 U.S. an ounce.
