Canada’s main stock index rose on Thursday on the back of higher oil prices, a day after the central bank left its key interest rate unchanged.
The TSX Composite index restocked 50.13 points to begin Thursday at 20,052.40
The Canadian dollar eked higher 0.10 cents to 82.65 cents U.S.
The Bank of Canada on Wednesday left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low 0.25%, as expected, and said the economy would “rebound strongly” as vaccinations against COVID-19 picked up.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange grew 1.04 points to 977.88.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground in the first hour, with energy up 1.4%, while information technology and consumer staples each gained 0.2%.
The four laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 1.2%, while consumer discretionaries doffed 0.3%, and communications lost 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 climbed to an all-time high on Thursday as investors shrugged off a key inflation report that showed a bigger-than-expected increase in price pressures.
The Dow Jones Industrials barreled out of the starting blocks to gain 209.83 points and start the day at 34,656.97.
The S&P 500 recovered 26.93 points to 4,246.48, overtaking its May 7 high after the market traded sideways for a month.
The NASDAQ spiked 107.29 points to 14,019.04.
UPS shares rose about 1% after an upgrade from JPMorgan. Shares of Boeing and Delta Air Lines were also higher.
Video-game retailer and meme stock GameStop fell 7% even after the company tapped former Amazon executive Matt Furlong to be its next CEO and said that sales rose 25% last quarter. The company also said it may sell up to five million additional shares.
Consumer prices for May accelerated at their fastest pace since the summer of 2008 amid the economic recovery from the pandemic-triggered recession, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
The consumer price index, which represents a basket including food, energy, groceries and prices across a spectrum of goods, rose 5% from a year ago. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting a gain of 4.7%.
A separate report released Thursday showed that jobless claims for the week ended June 5 came in at 376,000, versus a Dow Jones estimate of 370,000. The total still marked the lowest of the pandemic era.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were unchanged, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 1.49%.
Oil prices regained 54 cents to $70.50 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices inched up 30 cents to $1,895.90 U.S. an ounce.