Canada’s main stock index fell on Thursday, with technology stocks leading the declines after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled that more interest rate hikes are likely.
The TSX regained 12.17 points by the close Thursday to 20,027.26.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.63 cents to 75.64 cents U.S.
Energy led the few rising subgroups, with Advantage Oil and Gas accumulating 25 cents, or 3.4%, to $7.57, while Precision Drilling vaulting $2.54, or 4.2%, to $62.87.
Financials took on strength, most notably, Laurentian Bank, climbing 48 cents, or 1.4%, to $33.79, while Onex Corp. took on 90 cents, or 1.3%, to $71.05.
Industrials were also in the green, as Richelieu Hardware added 90 cents, or 2.2%, to its price to $41.37, while CAE jumped 36 cents, or 1.3%, to $28.08.
Gold pulled things down, though, as B2Gold retreated 16 cents, or 3.3%, to $4.74, while Lundin Gold lost 52 cents, or 3.2%, to $15.61.
Utilities also had a rough day, as AltaGas handed back 73 cents, or 3%, to $23.81, while Northland Power parted with 37 cents, or 1.3%. to $27.29.
In real-estate, Granite REIT lost $1.77, or 2.2%, to $78.53, while Colliers International Group dipped $3.65, or 2.8%, to $128.18.
On the economic beat, the Canadian Real Estate Association stops by with MLS listing for May. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said housing starts numbered 230,205 units in May down from 240,318 units in April.
Meantime, Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 0.3% in April, mainly driven by higher sales in the motor vehicle parts as well as the petroleum and coal product industries.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked higher 2.19 points to 612.18.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower by the closing bell, weighed most by gold and utilities, each off 0.8%, and real-estate, bowing 0.5%.
The five gainers were led by energy, marching 0.8%, financials, better by 0.4%, and industrials, inching up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday rallied more than 400 points and the S&P 500 touched a fresh 13-month high, as investors bet the Federal Reserve was close to done raising rates after the central bank this week skipped a hike.
The 30-stock index flew 428.73 points, or 1.3%, to close Thursday at 34,408.06.
The S&P 500 added 53.25 points, or 1.2%, to 4,425.84. The S&P 500’s climb on Thursday marked a new intraday 13-month high for the index, and has so far posted its best week since March 31. The S&P 500 is also riding its longest winning streak since November 2021 and is headed for its strongest weekly gain since March. From its October low, the broader market index is up 23%. It’s also risen 14% year to date
The NASDAQ index perked 156.34 points, or 1.2%, to 13,782.82. Thursday’s gains brought the S&P 500 and NASDAQ to their highest intraday levels since April 2022. The tech-heavy benchmark is up more than 30% in 2023.
In tech, shares of Microsoft were higher, 3.1%, and Oracle sprang 3.9%. Alibaba stock climbed 3.1%.
Additional economic data releases Thursday morning gave investors and policymakers better insight on the strength of the labour market and consumer spending. Weekly jobless claims numbers were slightly above estimates at 262,000 compared to a Dow Jones estimate of 245,000, while retail sales ticked up 0.3%.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during a post-meeting press conference that the Federal Open Market Committee would use the six weeks until its next meeting to “take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy.” He added that a decision on July’s policy move has not yet been made. The upswing on Thursday shows investors remain willing to place bets on the overhang of uncertainty heading into the July FOMC meeting.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury spiked, dropping yields to 3.72% from Wednesday’s 3.80%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered $2.28 to $70.55 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices two dollars to $1,970.50 U.S. an ounce.