Canada’s main stock index was trading higher Thursday afternoon following yesterday’s Bank of Canada rate hike.
The TSX was up 18.35 points to 20,617.95.
The Canadian dollar rose 0.019 cents at 74.92 cents U.S.
The Bank of Canada yesterday, indicated it will pause its rate-hike cycle, which it continued with a 25 basis point increase that took the benchmark rate to a 15-year high of 4.5%.
Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSX:IMO) says it is moving forward with a $720-million project to build a renewable diesel facility at its Strathcona refinery near Edmonton. The project is expected to produce 20,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel once it is operational.
Statistics Canada reported this morning that the number of job vacancies fell by 2.4% in November to their lowest level since August 2021. The agency says the number of job vacancies across all sectors was down 20,700 at 850,300 for the month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange erased 1.43 points to 621.19.
Eight of the 12 subgroups were lower, with gold stocks sinking 1.79%, industrial issues off 0.69% and consumer staples stocks surrendering 0.63%.
The four gainers were led by energy issues up 1.05%, financials ahead 0.84% and real estate rising by 0.23%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks in the U.S were higher in afternoon trading with the the S&P 500 up by 12 points, or 0.3%, to 4,030, the Dow Jones Industrial Average flat at 33,736 and the Nasdaq Composite advancing 69 points, or 0.6%, to 11,384.
GDP data released Thursday showed the economy expand at an annualized rate of 2.9% during the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said. That’s above the 2.8% Dow Jones estimate, but represents a slight cooldown from the third-quarter reading.
Durable goods orders over the final month rose 5.2% for the best annualized gain since the summer of 2020.
Tesla reported record profits for the fourth quarter and the full year, but its profit margins were tighter due to higher costs, recent price cuts, and sales in the quarter that were weaker than hoped. The leading electric vehicle maker posted adjusted earnings of $1.19 per share in the quarter, up from 85 cents a share a year earlier, and its previous record of $1.07 a share in the first quarter.
The Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields were modestly higher at 3.480% in New York trading.
February gold futures last traded at $1,933.40 an ounce, down 0.47% on the day.
U.S. crude rose 1.22% to $81.13 per barrel and Brent was at $87.15, up 1.2% on the day.