Equities in Canada’s largest market enjoyed a triple-digit rise by noon EDT on Thursday, as technology shares basked in the glow of
Facebook-parent Meta Platform's upbeat earnings, while gains in Suncor Energy supported the energy sector.
The S&P/TSX Composite came off its highs of the morning, but sprang up 117.38 points to 20,861.61
The Canadian dollar backpedaled 0.12 cents to 77.91 cents U.S.
Tech stocks ruled the roost during the morning, with Celestica popping 56 cents, or 4.1%, to $14.17, while Tecsys jumped 97 cents, or 3.8%, to $26.73.
Health-care continued to have its problems, with Bausch Health Companies staggering $2.55, or 9.4%, to $23.88, while Tilray lost 21 cents, or 3.3%, to $6.21.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported the number of employees receiving pay or benefits from their employer—measured in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours as payroll employment—rose by 142,900 (+0.8%) in February.
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said Wednesday this country's economy is overheating, creating domestic inflationary pressures, and higher interest rates are needed to cool things down.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.43 points to 809.16.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground, led by information technology, hurtling 1.2%, energy, chugging 1.1%, and financials, up 1%.
The four laggards were weighed most by health-care, tumbling 4%, while materials fell 0.5%, and gold dulled 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Nasdaq Composite inched higher Thursday, following a strong earnings report from Meta Platforms, as the market sought to recover from this month’s selloff.
The Dow Jones Industrials broke for lunch Thursday up 115.74 points to 33,417.62.
The S&P 500 moved up 27.72 points to 4,211.68.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 59.79 points to 12,548.72.
Shares of Meta surged about 16% following a beat on earnings, a sign that investors may see signs of relief in the beaten-up tech sector.
Shares were down 48% on the year heading into the results.
Qualcomm gained more than 8% on the back of strong earnings, while PayPal rose roughly 5% despite issuing weak guidance for the second quarter.
McDonald’s, Merck, Eli Lilly and Southwest were all higher Thursday after their quarterly reports.
On the downside, Caterpillar fell about 5% despite an earnings beat. Teladoc plunged more than 44% after reporting weaker-than-expected results.
The S&P 500 is down 6.8% for April — on pace for its biggest monthly decline since March 2020. The NASDAQ has lost nearly 11% since the start of April and is headed for its worst one-month performance since October 2008. The Dow has been the relative outperformer, losing about 4% this month.
U.S. gross domestic product unexpectedly declined in the first quarter by 1.4% from the year prior, compared with the 1% growth expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
Some investors brushed off the economic contraction, citing the jump in prices and trade deficit as contributing the most to the decline.
Treasury prices sagged, lifting yields to 2.86% from Wednesday’s 2.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices grew $1.99 to $104.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $1.10 to $1,889.80 U.S. an ounce.
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