Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City April 28.Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Canadian stocks finished flat after fluctuating for much of the trading session on Thursday, as gold producers rallied while Bombardier Inc. climbed after securing a $5.6-billion order for one of its airplanes.
The benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index fell 1.23 points, or 0.01 per cent to 13,886.43 in Toronto. The gauge halted the longest losing streak in three weeks on Tuesday, and is one of the best-performing developed market in the world this year as it rebounds from last year's worst annual decline since 2008.
Barrick Gold Corp. and Goldcorp Inc. rallied more than 5 per cent as gold producers headed for a two-year high. Gold prices got a surprise lift after the Bank of Japan opted against boosting stimulus, weakening the dollar. Gold for immediate delivery climbed as much as 1.1 per cent in London.
Raw-materials producers jumped 2.1 per cent, the most in the Canadian benchmark equity gauge as four of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced. Constellation Software sank 5.1 per cent to a two-month low after posting first-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.95 a share, short of consensus estimates of $4.45. Technology stocks slid 1.7 per cent as a group.
Bombardier Inc. climbed 1.5 per cent, extending a July high, after landing a $5.6-billion deal based on list prices to sell at least 75 of its C Series jets to Delta Air Lines Inc. with an option to buy 50 more. Bombardier also reported a wider-than-estimated quarterly loss, while revenue was also short of analysts' forecasts.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. slipped 4 per cent after cutting its full-year profit forecast as fertilizer prices declined and China delayed signing key supply contracts. The forecast for potash production at the world's second-largest producer of the fertilizer was also reduced. First quarter sales and profit also slumped.
Suncor Energy Inc. rose 1.7 per cent to help lift the benchmark's energy producers after boosting its 2016 output target. The company reported a wider-than-estimated quarterly loss.
The resource-dominant S&P/TSX remains closely linked to moves in commodities prices, with an 18-per-cent rally in the benchmark equity gauge from a Jan. 20 low aligning with a rebound in crude from the lowest levels since 2003. Raw-materials and energy producers are the two top-performing industries in Canada so far this year, up more than 15 percent.
The Canadian benchmark now trades at 22 times earnings, about 14 per cent higher than the 19.3 times earnings valuation of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
U.S. stocks closed down on Thursday as the Bank of Japan's shocking call to cap monetary stimulus continued to rattle investors while a late day decline in Apple shares on remarks from billionaire investor Carl Icahn added to selling pressure.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 208.46 points, or 1.16 per cent, to 17,833.09, the S&P 500 lost 19.22 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 2,075.93 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 57.85 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 4,805.29.
Sentiment was fragile heading into today's session after the Bank of Japan refrained from adding more stimulus measures, and turned sour after Carl Icahn said he sold out of his stake in Apple Inc. That sent the iPhone maker's shares to a two-month low with tech companies tumbling along with it, despite Facebook surging to a record.
Apple fell 3.1 per cent to $94.81, while Facebook rose 7.2 per cent to $116.73.
"When the news on Icahn's Apple sale came out, that really got people worried," said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. LLC in New York. "It's hard for the stock market to rally to new highs when Apple isn't moving higher. Facebook seemed to offset the BOJ news, but as Apple moved to new lows, it got people more concerned. It overtook the positive news in the market."
Oil rose to a five-month high in New York after a further drop in U.S. crude production signalled lower prices are taking a toll on the nation's shale boom.
Futures capped an 8-per-cent gain over three sessions. Output slipped for a seventh week to the lowest since October 2014, a report from the Energy Information Administration showed. Nationwide supplies rose by 2 million barrels to 540.6 million, the highest since 1929. The gain accelerated as the dollar fell to a 10-month low, bolstering the appeal of commodities priced in the currency to investors.
"We are coming up to a tipping point," said Dan Heckman, senior fixed-income strategist in Kansas City, Mo., at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees about $127-billion. "There will be a gradual tightening unless there's an economic downturn. Prices should steadily move higher through the end of the year."
Crude has rebounded after slumping to the lowest since 2003 earlier this year amid signs the worldwide surplus will ease as U.S. production declines. Oil extended gains Wednesday after Federal Reserve officials signaled they remain upbeat about the nation's growth and are less worried about risks posed by global economic weakness and financial-market turbulence.
West Texas Intermediate for June delivery rose 70 cents, or 1.5 per cent, to close at $46.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It's the highest settlement since Nov. 4.
Brent for June settlement advanced 96 cents, or 2 per cent, to $48.14 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, also the highest close since Nov. 4. The contract expires Friday. The more-active July futures advanced 84 cents to $47.77. The global benchmark crude ended the session at a $2.11 premium to WTI.
"There's an upward bias to the market," said Kyle Cooper, director of research with IAF Advisors and Cypress Energy Capital Management in Houston. "We've broken through a lot of resistance."
With files from Reuters