Canada’s main stock index opened higher on Thursday, on the back of metal mining shares, while investors assessed domestic housing and U.S. retail sales data.
The TSX acquired 50.34 points to open Thursday to 24,839.64.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.31 cents at 69.50 cents U.S.
Orla Mining said it produced 26,531 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter, bringing annual gold production for 2024 to 136,748 ounces. Shares in Orla nicked downward four cents to $8.34.
On the economic front, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said housing starts housing starts in Canada plunged by 13.35% month-over-month to 231,500 units in December 2024, the lowest level in three months and below market expectations of 245,000 units.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked higher 1.31 points to 609.13.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher at first Thursday. led by gold, up 1.1%, information technology, ahead 0.9%, and materials, mightier by 0.6%.
The four laggards were weighed most by energy, sliding 0.7%, real-estate, off 0.4%, and consumer discretionary stocks, down 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were little changed Thursday as traders assessed the latest batch of earnings reports, with the S&P 500 looking to record its longest winning streak since December.
The Dow Jones Industrials scaled back 105.20 points to 43,116.35
The S&P 500 Index dipped 3.69 points to 5,946.22.
The NASDAQ Composite declined 30.23 points to 19,481.01.
Bank of America inched higher after the company reported an earnings and revenue beat in the prior quarter. Morgan Stanley climbed 1.9% after posting a top- and bottom-line beat in the fourth quarter on strong investment banking activity and fixed income trading revenue. The results come a day after other financial peers such as JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs also beat fourth-quarter estimates.
The earnings season is off to a strong start overall, with 77% of the companies that have reported thus far beating expectations.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were flat, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 4.65%.
Oil prices skidded 69 cents to $79.35 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold hiked $28.70 an ounce to $2,746.50 U.S.
