Canada’s main stock index opened higher on Thursday, boosted by gains in mining and energy shares, while investors parsed through latest economic data from the United States.
The TSX Composite Index kept its win streak alive, gathering 80.49 points to open Thursday at 23,291.66.
The Canadian dollar slumped 0.11 cents to 73.54 cents U.S.
The energy sector was in focus as oil prices extended their rebound amid concerns over Hurricane Francine’s impact on U.S. output.
In corporate news, convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard is discussing how much it could raise the offer price to buy Japan’s Seven & i Holdings, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
On the economic docket, building permits in Canada surged 22.1% month over month to $12.4 billion in July.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.68 points, or 1%, to 560.91.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups gained by the close, led by consumer discretionary stocks, galloping 3.6%, while information technology gathered 1.6%, and health-care took on 1%.
The two laggards proved to be communications, sliding 0.4%, and gold, duller by 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 moved higher as investors digested fresh inflation data following a volatile trading session.
The Dow Jones Industrial index fell 50.37 points at 40,811.34.
The much broader index inched up 11.34 points to 5,565.81.
The NASDAQ hiked 78.65 points to 17,474.18.
The latest producer price index, which measures the average change in prices businesses receive for their goods and services, reflected a 0.2% rise in wholesale prices in August. That’s in line with expectations.
The report follows consumer inflation data released Wednesday — which an uptick in core prices. These strip out volatile food and energy categories. The reading spooked investors hoping for a half-percentage point cut from the Federal Reserve at its meeting next week.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, raising yields up to 3.69% from Wednesday’s 3.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.27 to $68.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $31.10 to $2,573.50.
