Canada’s main stock index rose on Thursday, as miners tracked gold prices higher after the U.S. Federal Reserve doused prospects of an increase in lending rates.
The TSX Composite index climbed 125.71 points to 20,356.11.
The Canadian dollar hiked half a cent to 80.37 cents U.S.
Endeavour Silver jumped 40 cents, or 6.3%, to $6.79, while Kirkland Lake Gold rose $3.46, or 6.9%, to $53.41.
Cenovus Energy added 47 cents, or 4.6%, to $10.64, as it raised its full-year production forecast and posted a near 2% rise in second quarter profit.
Canadian Pacific Railway gained $1.07, or 1.2%, to $91.36 after the railroad operator topped quarterly profit estimates on Wednesday.
Lundin Mining fell 28 cents, or 2.5%, to $11.17, while shares in Real Matters, down 64 cents, or 4.8%, to $12.81.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said payroll employment fell by 257,500 (or -1.6%) in May, with much of the decline concentrated in service industries in Ontario.
British Columbia is bringing back a mask mandate for the central region of the province amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in the area, less than a month after easing restrictions.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 11.37 points, or 1.3%, to 920.16
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, as materials strengthened 2.7%, gold brightened 2.6%, and energy rumbled 1.1% higher
The four laggards were information technology, down 0.4%, while health-care, and real-estate each lost 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose to record levels on Thursday as investors shrugged off economic data pointing slower-than-expected growth.
The Dow Jones Industrials screamed higher 216.09 points to 35,147.02 to hit an intraday record.
The S&P 500 cleared breakeven 28.02 points to 4,428.05, also reaching a fresh high.
The NASDAQ gained 54.67 points to 14,817.35, amid a drop in Facebook and PayPal shares.
The major averages are on track to end the month higher, with the S&P up 2.9% for July. The NASDAQ is ahead 1.8% and the Dow is up 2.1%.
Shares of Robinhood started trading on the NASDAQ at $38 per share on Thursday, valuing the popular stock trading app at roughly $32 billion.
PayPal slid 5%, and Facebook fell 3%, after warning of significant growth slowdown as they reported quarterly earnings.
Meanwhile, shares of Ford jumped nearly 4% after the automobile company raised its 2021 outlook after reporting a surprise profit in the second quarter.
Amazon, Pinterest and Anheuser-Busch are set to report earnings Thursday.
U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product accelerated 6.5% on an annualized basis, considerably less than the 8.4% Dow Jones estimate.
Meanwhile, a separate data point showed that 400,000 people filed initial claims for unemployment benefits for the week ended July 24.
That level is nearly double the pre-pandemic norm and above a Dow Jones estimate of 385,000.
Many investors were relieved that the Federal Reserve signaled no imminent plans for dialing back asset purchases. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell cautioned that although the economy is making progress toward its goals, it has a ways to go before the central bank would actually adjust its easy policies.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys sagged, lifting yields to 1.26% from Wednesday’s 1.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices grabbed $1.01 to $73.40 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices leaped $32.90 to $1,832.90U.S. an ounce.