Canada's main stock index opened higher on Thursday as energy stocks rose on higher crude prices and financials gained on upbeat big bank earnings, while investors parsed through more domestic and U.S. economic data.
The TSX Composite gained 24.87 points to begin Thursday at 20,141.07.
The benchmark Canadian index is set to snap a four-month losing streak, eyeing monthly gains of over 6%, as global markets made gains on hopes that major central banks were nearing the end of interest rate hikes.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.09 cents at 73.49 cents U.S.
Royal Bank of Canada reported a rise in quarterly profit on strong performances from its corporate and investment banking units, while Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce also reported higher fourth-quarter profit.
Royal shares increased $2.61, or 2.2%, to $121.42, while those for CIBC screamed higher $1.66, or 3.1%, to $55.02.
TD Bank Group, Canada's second-largest lender, reported a fall in its fourth-quarter profit. TD shares surrendered $1.33, or 1.6%, to $81.97.
In matters economic, Statistics Canada reported real gross domestic product declined 0.3% in the third quarter, following a 0.3% increase in the second quarter. Real GDP edged up 0.1% in September on the strength of the increase in goods-producing industries.
Elsewhere, the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer increased by 22,100 (+0.1%) in September, following a decline of 16,500 in August and little change in July.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 2.28 points to 534.89.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, with consumer staples and gold each diving 0.8%, and materials off 0.7%.
The three gainers were energy, up 1.5%, financials, richer by 0.3%, and industrials, ahead 0.04%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Thursday, as traders weighed new inflation data that increased hopes the Federal Reserve could begin cutting rates next year. Wall Street is poised to wrap up November with the strongest monthly gains in over a year.
The 30-stock index gained 246.88 points to open Thursday at 35,677.30.
The S&P 500 slid 0.34 points to 4,550.24.
The NASDAQ lost 47.83 points to 14,210.66.
The Dow was flirting with a new 2023 closing high, trading right around its previous high close set in August. It was just inches away from an intraday high for the year as well. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite were trading about 1% away from their respective 2023 highs.
Leading the Dow higher on Thursday is cloud software company Salesforce, which popped more than 7.5% on the back of better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fiscal third quarter. Salesforce’s cloud data business, which saw its revenue increase by 22% from the previous year, and its artificial intelligence product Einstein GPT were behind the positive report.
Data released early Thursday showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index—the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation gauge—rose in line with expectations in October, gaining 0.2% for the month and 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. The numbers could provide an incentive for the Fed to hold rates steady, before lowering them in 2024.
The major averages remain on track to close November with sizeable gains, which would end a three-month losing streak for the indexes.
The S&P 500 is up 8.6% in November, while the NASDAQ has advanced 11%. Both averages are tracking for their best monthly performance since July 2022. The Dow is up 7.8% in November, on pace for its best month since October 2022.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sank, raising yields to 4.34% from Wednesday’s 4.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.16 to $79.02 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $9.30 to $2,037.80.
