Stocks Buoyant by Noon
The TSX Composite advanced 37.4 points to pause for lunch Thursday at 19,072.21.
The Canadian dollar forged higher 0.05 cents at 72.81 cents U.S.
Tilray Brands fell 15 cents, or 4.9% to $2.94, after Wednesday's surge on strong results.
In corporate news, BlackBerry shares dropped 49 cents, or 8.4%, to $5.37, after the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said it would separate its Internet of Things and cybersecurity business units and target an initial public offering for the IoT business next fiscal year.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that in August, Canada's merchandise exports increased 5.7%, while imports rose 3.8%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade balance went from a deficit of $437 million in July to a surplus of $718 million in August, the first trade surplus observed since April.
As well, the IVEY PMI for September measured 53.1, compared to 53.5 in August and 52.6 in September 2022.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 6.27 points, or 1.2%, to 526.91.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups had turned red by noon, with health-care fading 0.8%, information technology off 0.5%, and consumer discretionary stocks lower by 0.4%.
The five gainers were led by utilities, up 1.4%, communications, progressing 1%, and energy, better by 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks slipped Thursday as investors were cautious ahead of key jobs data on Friday that could determine the next move for interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 166.58 points to move into the afternoon at 32,962.97.
The S&P 500 index gave back 30.09 points to 4,233.66.
The NASDAQ index subtracted 111.08 points 13,122.62.
The broad market index and the 30-stock Dow are on pace for a losing week. The Dow is down 1.1% week to date, and turned negative for the year during Tuesday’s selloff. The S&P 500 is lower 0.5% for the week, while the NASDAQ is up just 0.1%.
Shares of Clorox tumbled 8.5% on Thursday after its earnings report, making consumer staples the S&P 500's worst-performing sector, down 1.3% for the day. The utilities sector continued its decline, also losing 1.2%. AES and NextEra Energy were last down nearly 4%.
The major averages are on pace for another losing week. The Dow is down 0.1% week to date, turning negative for the year during Tuesday’s selloff. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ are down about 0.2% for the week.
Weekly initial jobless claims came in at 207,000 for the week ending Sept. 30, up just 2,000 from the prior week’s numbers. Economists had forecasted 210,000, according to a Dow Jones consensus estimate. While the slight increase in jobless claims was about in-line with the Street, it disappointed some investors hoping the weekly data would start to signal a labor market breakdown and end the run in rates that’s hurting stocks.
On Friday, economists polled by Dow Jones argue non-farm payrolls for September will show a 170,000 increase, that would be down from a 187,000 jobs gain in August. While investors aren’t hoping for a recession, they are wishing for some labour market weakness that would cause the Federal Reserve to rethink raising rates again and halt the run in Treasury yields to 16-year highs.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were slightly higher, lowering yields to 4.72% from Wednesday’s 4.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices retreated $1.47 to $82.75 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $4.40 to $1,830.40.
Provided Content: Content provided by Baystreet. The Globe and Mail was not involved, and material was not reviewed prior to publication.
