Canada’s main stock index hovered near four-week highs on Thursday, amid broad-based sectoral gains, while investors awaited U.S. employment data to gauge the trajectory of interest rate cuts in the world’s largest economy.
The TSX Composite Index gained 22.88 points, off its highs of the morning, to approach noon EDT Thursday at 22,246.55.
The Canadian dollar took on 0.10 cents to 73.45 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Orla Mining filed a request for arbitration against the Government of Panama under the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement (FTA), seeking damages of no less than $400 million.
Shares in Orla fell one cent to $5.28.
Among individual stocks, goeasy Ltd. slid $15.94, or 7.8%, to the bottom of the TSX, at $189.06 after announcing its top boss Jason Mullins will transition out of his role.
Oil prices recovered one cent to $83.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices skidded 70 cents to $2,368.70
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange backpedaled 0.27 points to start Thursday at 576.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green, as communications took on 0.9%, while consumer discretionary and energy stocks each surged 0.4%. (Note: consumer discretionary and utilities were incorrectly reported as declining earlier this morning. They were, in fact, gaining.)
Industrials dipped 0.1%, while real-estate stocks were unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
American markets were shuttered for the Fourth of July holiday.