Canada’s main stock index opened higher on Thursday, boosted by consumer discretionary stocks amid broader gains, while a better-than-expected jobs report in the United States allayed some fears of a potential recession.
The TSX Composite Index recovered 182.47 points to 22,063.42.
The Canadian dollar inched downward 0.03 cents at 72.70 cents U.S.
Among stocks, Manulife Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, powered by a 40% rise in earnings from Asia. Shares in the insurer rose 79 cents, or 2.4%, to $33.98.
Restaurant Brands International beat Wall Street expectations for second-quarter revenue, as its Tim Hortons and Burger King outlets enjoyed steady demand. Restaurant Brands hiked $1.89, or 2%, to $98.86.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 0.62 points to 534.35
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher in the first hour, with health-care sprinting 1.5%, while energy and gold each surged 1.3%.
Only real-estate missed the party, and only by 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks climbed Thursday after new labour market data boosted investors’ confidence in the U.S. economy after a sharp market selloff earlier in the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial index popped 509.16 points, or 1.3%, to 39.272.61
The S&P 500 index recovered 79.48 points to 5,278.95.
The NASDAQ surged 275.56 points to 16,471.36.
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly surged around 9% after posting better-than-expected earnings and raising its full-year outlook on strong demand for diabetes treatment Mounjaro and obesity drug Zepbound. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery and Bumble both pulled back after reporting soft second-quarter revenue results.
The moves come after stocks were unable to hold an early rally on Wednesday, fueling concerns that the factors that caused Monday’s sell-off haven’t gone away. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% and the NASDAQ Composite sank 1.1%. The 30-stock Dow shed 0.6%.
All three averages have declined in four of the past five sessions.
The latest weekly jobless claims came in below forecasts, helping to allay some recent concerns on the strength of the labour market. First-time filings for jobless benefits came in at 233,000 last week, down 17,000 from the previous week and lower than the Dow Jones estimate for 240,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury backed off, yields hiking to 3.99% from Wednesday’s 3.95%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices edged up a penny at $75.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $27.00 to $2,459.40.
