Canada’s main stock index opened little changed on Thursday as losses in telecom and financials companies curbed strong gains in energy shares benefiting from surging oil prices.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 3.58 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 15,533.55. Eight of the 10 main index sectors were lower.
The Canadian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday after hitting a one-week low the day before, as oil prices climbed and data showed a jump in domestic employment.
The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, rose to its highest since late 2014 as U.S. crude inventories declined and after sources told Reuters that top exporter Saudi Arabia aims to push prices even higher.
Canada added 42,800 jobs in March, led by hiring in the construction industry, according to a report from ADP.
The Canadian dollar was trading 0.2 per cent higher at $1.2604 to the greenback, or 79.34 U.S. cents. The currency traded in a range of $1.2587 to $1.2645.
The loonie hit on Wednesday its lowest since April 10 at $1.2660 after the Bank of Canada left interest rates on hold and said it did not know when or how aggressive it would need to be to keep inflation in check.
The benchmark S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq opened lower after three days of gains on Thursday as technology stocks took a beating from Apple’s decline and weakness in chipmakers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36.77 points, or 0.15 per cent, at the open to 24,711.30. The S&P 500 opened lower by 7.48 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 2,701.16. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 36.62 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 7,258.62 at the opening bell.
Apple shares were also off 1.6 per cent in early trading. Brokerage Mizuho Securities USA said weak demand for iPhone 8 models could dent the company’s third-quarter forecast.
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), which is also an Apple supplier, lowered its own full-year forecast due to softer demand for smartphones and cut its outlook for global semiconductor industry growth this year.
TSMC’s shares fell about 5 per cent, leading a host of chipmakers lower. Among them AMD and Nvidia fell more than 2 per cent, while Intel was off 1.8 per cent.
“We are in a digestion period where we are inundated with massive amounts of information. On balance, things look great, the (profit) growth rate is at mid 20 percent on S&P ... it certainly shows we’re off to a good to start,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR in Boston.
Of the 52 companies among the S&P 500 that have reported first-quarter earnings through Wednesday, 78.8 per cent topped profit expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Overall profits at S&P 500 companies is expected to have increased 19.4 percent in the first quarter, the biggest in seven years.
American Express was up 5.2 per cent after the credit card issuer topped Wall Street profit estimates and Alcoa rose 2.8 per cent after the aluminum producer reported strong results and raised its full-year earnings forecast.
Shares of some of the biggest consumer companies fell after results. Philip Morris was down 11.3 per cent after its revenue missed estimates, while Procter & Gamble dropped 3.9 per cent despite better-than-expected results.
Oil prices kept rising to their highest since late 2014 as U.S. crude inventories declined, moving closer to five-year averages, and after sources told Reuters that top exporter Saudi Arabia aims to push prices even higher.
Brent crude futures reached $74.74 a barrel, the highest since Nov. 27, 2014 -- the day OPEC decided to pump as much as it could to defend market share, sending the price to a low of $27 just over a year later.
Brent futures came off slightly to $74.40 a barrel, still up 92 cents from the previous close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 53 cents at $69.00. WTI had earlier hit $69.56, its highest since Nov. 28.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major producers including Russia started to withhold output in 2017 to rein in oversupply that had depressed prices since 2014.
Reuters