Baystreet.ca - Canada's main stock index opened higher on Thursday, the first trading day of the year, as higher oil and gold prices propped up energy and mining sectors.
The TSX popped 191.42 points to open Thursday at 24,919.36.
The Canadian dollar shed 0.25 cents to 69.32 cents U.S.
On things macroeconomic, the S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 52.2 in December from 52.0 in November, its highest level since February 2023 and the fourth straight month above the 50.0 no-change mark. The average for the PMI in data going back to 2010 is 52.4.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 11.36 points, or 1.9%, to 609.20.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground, with gold shining 3.3% brighter, while materials hiked 2.7%, and health-care climbed 2.1%.
The lone laggard was in consumer staples, eking down 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved higher to start 2025, with hopes that the market can regain the momentum that propelled the S&P 500 to log two straight years of annual gains above 20%.
The 30-stock index popped 315.12 points to 42,859.34.
The broader index recovered 42.97 points to 5,924.60.
The NASDAQ regained 159.91 points to 19,470.70.
Energy stocks helped boost the market in early trading Thursday. Shares of Chevron (NYSE:CVX) rose 1.5%, and renewable stock Enphase Energy jumped more than 5%.
However, some of the hot tech stocks from 2024 struggled in early trading. Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell more than 4% after reporting that annual deliveries declined in 2024. Defense tech stock Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) dropped about 1%.
Stocks fell in the final days of 2024, but the the year still produced solid returns. The S&P 500 surged 23% last year, while the 30-stock Dow added nearly 13%. Fueled by the enthusiasm around artificial intelligence and interest rate cuts, the Nasdaq outperformed with a 29% advance.
The holiday-shortened week has been light on economic data, but a jobless claims report on Thursday showed both initial and continuing unemployment claims falling week over week.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury poked up a bit, lowering yields to 4.56% from Tuesday’s 4.57 %. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked $1.52 to $73.27 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold captured $19.60 an ounce to $2,660.60 U.S.