Equities in Toronto rose on Thursday, boosted by cannabis stocks and hopes for an extended U.S. stimulus package to aid economic recovery after Democrats took control of the Senate.
The TSX raced higher 147.89 points to move into noon hour EST at 17,976.
The Canadian dollar sagged 0.34 cents to 78.61 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Ballard Power Systems, which jumped $4.55, or 14.8%, to $35.36, trading at its highest since May 2002 and Aphria, which rose 73 cents, 6.9%, to $11.33.
New Gold fell nine cents, or 3.1%, the most on the TSX, to $2.86. The second biggest decliner was Pretium Resourcs, down 30 cents, or 2%, to $14.93.
On the economic beat, Western University’s IVEY School of Business’ Purchasing Managers Index for December dropped to 46.7 from November's 52.7, and down from the 51.9 figure in December 2019.
Elsewhere, Canada's exports rose in November, while imports edged down, with the country's trade deficit with the world narrowing slightly more than expected, data from Statistics Canada showed on Thursday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 10.77 points, or 1.2%, to 908.29.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, with health-care shares higher 3.1%, information technology up 2.1%, and industrials rumbling 1.5%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by gold, off 0.8%, communications down 0.7%, and consumer staples fading 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose to all-time highs on Thursday as Congress confirmed the election of Joe Biden as president and traders looked past the unrest in Washington.
The Dow Jones Industrials continued its rapid rise, taking on 221.44 points, to 31,050.84.
The S&P 500 hiked 54.21 points to 3,797.85, having reached more than 3,800 for the first time.
The NASDAQ popped 273.15 points, or 2.1%, to 13,014.36, breaking above 13,000 for the first time — as shares of Facebook, Apple and Alphabet all gained more than 2%.
Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 6.7% to lead the Dow higher on the back of stronger-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of JPMorgan Chase rose 3.6% after the banking giant was upgraded to buy from neutral by an analyst at Bank of America. The financials and tech sectors rose more than 2% each to lift the S&P 500.
On Wednesday, rioters supporting President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol just as lawmakers started the procedural process of counting the Electoral College votes and formally declaring Biden the winner. Still, the Dow and the S&P 500 closed higher on Wednesday as traders looked beyond the event amid increasing prospects for more fiscal stimulus.
Late Wednesday evening, the Capitol building was secured and Congress reconvened to continue the process to confirm Biden’s win. That affirmation came early Thursday morning with the House of Representatives and the Senate rejecting efforts to object to the acceptance of the Electoral College votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
On the data front, initial jobless claims came in at 787,000 for the week ending Dec. 31, the U.S. Labor Department said. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 815,000.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury collapsed, propelling yields to 1.08% from Wednesday’s 1.03%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 15 cents to $50.78 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped four dollars to $1,912.60 U.S. an ounce.
