The good vibes on both sides of the border continued to make their presence felt Thursday, with markets in Toronto warming to the strength of resource stocks.
The TSX Composite Index kept its win streak rolling, adding 129.28 points to wrap up Thursday’s session at 24,690.48.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.21 cents to 72.48 cents U.S.
In corporate news, the National Bank of Canada upgraded Lithium Americas’ stock to outperform from sector perform. Lithium gave back 12 cents, or 1.7%, to close at $4.40.
The financials, the most heavily weighted TSX sector, gained, following a rise of $1.13, or 1.5%, in Brookfield Corporation to $76.38, and Trisura Group, which claimed 61 cents, or 1.4%, to $45.21.
Elsewhere, BRP grabbed 53 cents to $78.96 after the Canadian manufacturer of power products initiated a process to sell its marine businesses.
Gold ran away with the day, powered in part by Barrick Gold, jumping 65 cents, or 2.4%, to $28.08, while Wesdome Gold advanced 22 cents, or 1.7%, to $12.87.
Among materials, K92 Mining, up 60 cents, or 6.7%, to $9.54, while Orla Mining gathered 16 cents, or 2.5%, to $6.45.
In the energy sector, Athabasca Oil picked up 13 cents, or 2.6%, to $5.18, while Tamarack Valley Energy took on a dime, or 2.6%, to $3.99.
Consumer staples let the side down, however, as Jamieson Wellness sank 44 cents to $73.75, while Empire Company dipped 24 cents to $40.91.
In industrials, NFI Group dropped 41 cents, or 2.3%, to $17.18, while Bird Construction had its wings clipped, losing 79 cents, or 2.5%, to $30.42.
Real-estate also provided a brake, with Storagevault Canada falling 11 cents, or 2.3%, to $4.65, while units of Killam Apartment REIT skidded 32 cents, or 1.6%, to $20.00
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reports Canadian investors increased their exposure to foreign securities by $12.3 billion in August, mainly in U.S. shares. Meanwhile, foreign investors acquired $10 billion of Canadian securities.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nosed up 2.26 points to 608.90.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green Thursday, with gold up 1.5%, while energy rumbled 1.2%, and materials finished ahead 0.6%,
The three laggards were consumer staples, off 0.2%, while industrials and real-estate, each slid 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ closed higher on Thursday after getting a boost from semiconductor names, while strong economic data eased lingering fears of a potential recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial climbed 161.25 points to 43,239.05, yet another all-time high for the 30-stock index.
The S&P 500 index removed one point to 5,841.47.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite attached 6.53 points to 18,373.61.
Chip stocks led the gains, reversing some of their recent losses. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia rose 2% and notched a new all-time high. The stock was boosted after Taiwan Semiconductor, a major supplier for Nvidia and other chip manufacturers, reported strong third-quarter results and raised its revenue forecast for the last three months of the year. Shares of TSMC jumped 11%, while AMD also rose 1%.
September’s retail sales figures showed that consumer spending was still robust, with monthly spending increased by 0.4%, while Dow Jones consensus estimate called for 0.3%. Sales excluding autos shot up by 0.5%, much hotter than the 0.1% forecast. Jobless claims for the week ended Oct. 12 were also lower than expected.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury slumped, raising yields to 4.10% from Wednesday’s 4.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 37 cents to $70.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $16.40 to $2,707.30 U.S. an ounce