Baystreet.ca - Canada's main stock index hit a record high on Thursday, driven by gains in financials and technology stocks, as markets cheered U.S. retail sales data indicating a resilient consumer.
The TSX Composite Index kept its win streak rolling, adding 105.13 points to open Thursday at 24,666.33.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.12 cents to 72.58 cents U.S.
In corporate news, the National Bank of Canada (TSX:NA) upgraded Lithium Americas (TSX:LAAC)' stock to outperform from sector perform. Lithium advanced 26 cents, or 5.6%, to $4.78.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reports Canadian investors increased their exposure to foreign securities by $12.3 billion in August, mainly in US shares. Meanwhile, foreign investors acquired $10 billion of Canadian securities.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nosed up 2.69 points to 609.33.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green in Thursday’s first hour, with gold up 1.5%, while materials and energy rumbled 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Thursday after getting a boost from semiconductor names, while strong economic data eased lingering fears of a potential recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial collected 105.17 points to 43,182.87.
The S&P 500 index gained 11.98 points to 5,854.45.
The NASDAQ Composite hiked 56.51 points to 18,423,59.
Chip stocks led the gains, reversing some of their recent losses. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose 3% and notched a new all-time high.
The stock was boosted after Taiwan Semiconductor, a major supplier for Nvidia and other chip manufacturers, reported strong third-quarter results and raised its revenue forecast for the last three months of the year. Shares of TSMC jumped 13%, while AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) also rose 1%.
September’s retail sales figures showed that consumer spending was still robust, with monthly spending increased by 0.4%, while Dow Jones consensus estimate called for 0.3%. Sales excluding autos shot up by 0.5%, much hotter than the 0.1% forecast. Jobless claims for the week ended Oct. 12 were also lower than expected.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury slumped, raising yields to 4.09% from Wednesday’s 4.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gathered 46 cents to $70.85 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $14.70 to $2,706 U.S. an ounce