Canada’s main stock index stopped short of hitting record highs on Thursday, boosted by gains in rate-sensitive stocks, after the U.S. Federal Reserve stuck to its guidance on rate cuts for 2024.
The TSX Composite moved higher 98.11 points to greet noon EDT Thursday at 22,143.82. The index hit a record high on April 5, 2022, at 22,213.07.
The Canadian dollar gave back 0.37 cents to 73.86 cents U.S.
Consumer staples sector led the sectoral declines, led by a slump in Alimentation Couche-Tard of $2.78, or 3.4%, to $78.74, after the multinational operator of convenience stores missed earnings expectations.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.56 points to 552.44.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups strengthened, led by information technology, ahead 1%, financials, better by 0.9%, and industrials, up 0.7%.
The three laggards proved to be consumer staples, down 0.8%, while energy and communications each waned 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks climbed Thursday and technology shares outperformed, adding to the previous session’s gains that led to new records on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrials surged 323.89 points to 39,836.02.
The S&P 500 index hiked 34.63 points to 5,259.25,
The NASDAQ rocketed 129.56 points to 16,499.02.
Micron Technology jumped16% on strong earnings and headed for its best day since December 2011. The news lifted the semiconductor sector, with Nvidia, Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor last up more than 2%. Marvell Technology and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF surged 4%.
Megacap tech stocks that led the recent rally also contributed to the session’s gains, with Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Amazon adding at least 1%. Apple bucked the broader tech-driven uptrend, slumping nearly 4% after the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker.
Wall Street will monitor earnings reports from FedEx and Nike after the market close.
Thursday’s moves follow a winning day on Wall Street that sent the three major indexes to new closing highs, with the S&P 500 breaking above 5,200 for the first time.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were higher, lowering yields to 4.27% at Wednesday’s 4.28%.
Oil prices slid 52 cents to $80.75 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices rallied $17.50 to $2,178.50.