Canada's main stock index edged marginally higher on Thursday, propelled by materials stocks tracking higher prices of metals, while miner Lithium Americas tumbled to the bottom of the index after a deep-discounted equity offering. At 10:00 a.m. ET (14:00 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE), opens new tab was up 69.08 points, or 0.32%, at 21,725.13.
The materials sector (.GSPTTMT), opens new tab, which houses Canadian miners and fertilizer companies, rose 1.0%, pulled up by precious and base metal miners.
Silvercrest Metals (SIL.TO), opens new tab and First Quantum (FM.TO), opens new tab climbed with a 5.1% and 3.2% gain, tracking surging prices of gold and copper. Energy shares (.SPTTEN), opens new tab followed with a 0.4% advance as oil prices turned positive after ticking downwards earlier in the session.
Five sectors on the index were logging losses, led by a 0.8% and 0.5% decline in healthcare (.GSPTTHC), opens new tab and technology (.SPTTTK), opens new tab shares, respectively. Advertisement · Scroll to continue
The TSX snapped its five-session losing streak on Wednesday with a 0.1% rise, but gains were capped by the Canadian government's planned tax increase on investment profits. On the data front, the number of Americans filing new unemployment benefit claims was unchanged at low levels last week, pointing to continued labor market strength.
(The labor market) is still relatively strong and lowering interest rates will be more difficult," said Graham Priest, investment advisor at BlueShore Financial.
"It is continuing to look like a higher rates for longer situation and it might not be until next year that we start to see rates come down", Priest added, pointing to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments on Tuesday that restrictive policy needed more time to work. In Canadian corporate news, shares of Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.TO), opens new tab sunk 28.2% after the lithium miner sold 55 million shares at a deep discount to raise $275 million.
