News

North American stocks remained in positive territory on Thursday at midday, with financials boosting U.S. indexes and commodities giving the Canadian benchmark index its bounce.

At noon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 8 points or 0.1 per cent, to 8684. The broader S&P 500 was up 3 points or 0.3 per cent, to 935.

Although initial jobless claims reported before markets opened were in line with economists’ expectations, investors were upbeat about a surprising 1.6 per cent jump in productivity during the first quarter – which was largely the result of slimmer workforces.

Seven of the 10 subindexes in the S&P 500 were higher. Financials led the way, with a 2.7 per cent gain. Materials and energy rose 1.6 per cent each.

However, anything tied to consumer spending was out of favour after retailers began to report their May same store sales. Consumer discretionary stocks fell 1.2 per cent and consumer staples fell 0.6 per cent. Health care stocks were also on the outs, falling 1.5 per cent.

In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 141 points or 1.4 per cent, to 10,431.

Energy stocks rose 2.4 per cent after the price of crude oil recovered from Wednesday’s retreat, rising $2.53 (U.S.) a barrel, to $68.65. It helped that Goldman Sachs returned to the energy prediction business, forecasting oil would rise to $85 a barrel by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, materials stocks rose 2.6 per cent after the price of gold also shook off Wednesday’s setback, rising close to $980 an ounce, up $14.

Financials rose 1.1 per cent. However, stocks tied to consumer spending were also down. Consumer staples fell 0.6 per cent and consumer discretionary stocks fell 0.4 per cent.