Canada’s main stock index rose on Thursday from over two-month low in the previous session as trade worries eased after China said it would hold talks with Washington.
At 11:30 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index was up 125.77 points, or 0.78 per cent, at 16,274.27.
A Chinese delegation will meet U.S. representatives in Washington later this month, offering a glimmer of hope for progress in resolving a conflict that has set world financial markets on edge.
Firming lira also added to sentiment after Turkish finance minister assured international investors that the country would survive its currency crisis, insisting that Turkey’s banks were healthy and strong.
All but two of the index’s 11 major sectors were higher, boosted by broad-based gains.
The energy sector climbed 1 per cent as oil rose on steadying global markets.
The financials sector gained 0.7 per cent and the industrials sector 0.5 per cent.
The materials sector added 0.9 per cent as base metal prices bounced back after a broad selloff and as gold rose on a declining dollar.
Economic data showed Canadian factory sales grew by 1.1 per cent in June due to strength in petroleum and coal industries. Another set of data showed the country added 11,600 jobs in July, driven by a pick-up in hiring in the leisure and hospitality.
U.S. stocks rose in a broad-based rally on Thursday, helped by robust earnings from Walmart and Cisco and easing trade worries after China and the United States said they would hold talks later this month.
Walmart shares surged 9.5 per cent, the most on the S&P 500, after the retailer said U.S. comparable sales grew the most in a decade and posted strong e-commerce sales.
The S&P retailers index gained 0.63 per cent. All of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with technology stocks up 0.79 per cent.
Cisco rose 4.6 per cent after posting quarterly results and first-quarter sales forecast that topped Wall Street expectations.
Symantec jumped 7.1 per cent after hedge fund Starboard Value disclosed a stake in the cyber-security firm and nominated five directors to its board.
“When you have a solid earnings backdrop it makes it easier for investors to digest some of the bad news as it comes up,” said Shawn Cruz, manager of trader strategy at TD Ameritrade in Chicago.
“The news of China coming back to the negotiating table is providing relief and you are starting to see markets stabilize a little bit.”
Industrials rose 1.02 per cent on hopes that Beijing and Washington may resolve a conflict that has roiled financial markets since early March.
Boeing rose 3.6 per cent, also gaining on a bullish outlook by brokerage firm UBS.
Also helping was a dip in the dollar as well as a rally in the lira after Turkey’s finance minister said the country would emerge from the current volatility stronger.
That eased concerns about U.S. lenders’ exposure to Turkey and sent the KBW bank index up 1.4 per cent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 338.93 points, or 1.35 per cent, at 25,501.34, the S&P 500 was up 25.16 points, or 0.89 per cent, at 2,843.53 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 67.53 points, or 0.87 per cent, at 7,841.65.
Second-quarter earnings have been stronger than expected, with 79.3 per cent of the 463 S&P 500 that have reported so far beating analyst expectations, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Department store chains were largely sitting out the rally, stung by Macy’s warning on margins on Wednesday and JC Penney’s weak results and lowered forecast.
Penney, not on the S&P 500, slumped 22.6 per cent. Nordstrom, due to report after the bell, was trading flat.
Reuters