Equities in Toronto continued to make progress Thursday, led by consumer issues, while investors pored over retail sales in this country and listened to remarks by U.S. President Trump over in Switzerland.
The TSX index leaped 122.58 points to end Thursday at 25,434.08.
The Canadian dollar stayed afloat 0.09 cents at 69.56 cents U.S.
RBC downgraded the rating of AG Growth International to “sector perform” from “outperform”. AG shares dished off four cents to $41.02.
Birchcliff Energy rose 26 cents, or 4.5%, to $6.08 after TD Cowen upgraded its rating to ‘buy’.
Elsewhere in energy, Athabasca Oil sank 19 cents, or 3.3%, to $15.20, while Precision Drilling folded $2.89, or 3.1%, to $91.50.
Consumer staples moved higher, however, as Loblaw Companies jumped $3.49, or 1.9%, to $187.44, while Empire Company captured 71 cents, or 1.7%, to $43.51.
Also in consumer stocks, Canadian Tire popped $7.48, or 4.7%, to $167.10, while MTY Food Group laid claim to $1.04, or 2.1%, to $50.75.
In utilities, Brookfield Renewable Energy hiked $1.40, or 4.9%, to $30.23, while those for Innergex Renewable soared 19 cents, or 2.7%, to $7.66.
Gold sank, with B2Gold off 12 cents, or 3.5%, to $3.35, while Kinross Gold slid 26 cents, or 1.7%, to $15.04.
In materials, NGEX dipped 69 cents, or 4.6%, to $14.17, while Dundee Precious Metals swooned 41 cents, or 2.8%, to $14.11.
On the economic agenda, Statistics Canada says retail sales were relatively unchanged in November. Sales were down in six out of nine subsectors, led by lower sales at food and beverage retailers. Higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers and gasoline stations and fuel vendors (+0.7%) largely offset declines in the remaining subsectors.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange backtracked 1.11 points to 616.94.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher by the close, with consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks each better 1.3%, utilities improving 1.2%.
The four laggards were weighed most by gold, settling 0.7%, while energy stocks were down 0.5%, and materials docked 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose to record highs once again on Thursday after President Donald Trump called for lower interest rates and cheaper oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrials skyrocketed 408.34 points to wrap up Thursday’s session at 44,565.07.
The much-broader index leaped 32.34 points to 6,118.71.
The NASDAQ Composite resurfaced 44.34 points to 20,053.68. as Nvidia and Amazon pulled back.
The fourth-quarter earnings season is also off to a strong start, with Netflix and big banks offering positive reports. But American Airlines poured some cold water on that enthusiasm, with the stock tumbling more than 8% on Thursday after the company issued weak guidance.
Stocks took a modest leg up after Trump said Thursday in a virtual address to the World Economic Forum that he would “demand that interest rates drop immediately.” The president also said he would ask Saudi Arabia to lower the price of oil, which pulled crude into the red.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury slipped, raising yields to 4.65% from Wednesday’s 4.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.19 to $74.25 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold declined $9.20 an ounce to $2,761.70 U.S.
