(CORRECTION: TSX VENTURE CLOSED LOWER)
Equity markets in Toronto hardly budged Thursday, as advances in energy were offset by tech concerns.
The TSX Composite Index gained 13.29 points to conclude Thursday at 26,342.29.
The Canadian dollar moved ahead 0.08 cents to 73.17 cents U.S.
Energy stocks led the parade of winners, with Imperial Oil tacking on 62 cents to $99.65, while shares in Suncor added 35 cents to $50.06.
In materials, Endeavour Silver captured 45 cents, or 7.8%, to $6.22, while Fortuna Silver Mines grabbed 89 cents, or 9.7%, to $10.11.
Real-estate issues also broke even and then some, as units of CT REIT gained 29 cents, or 1.8%, to $16.29, while Colliers International picked up 31 cents to $172.49.
Information and technology stocks fell, led by a drop of $29.49, or 12.3%, in Descartes, which missed first-quarter result estimates. The stock greeted the closing bell at $138.60.
Elsewhere in tech, Bitfarms collapsed 12 cents, or 9.3%, to $1.17.
Health-care companies took a spill, as Tilray lost 22 cents, or 3.6%, to 54 cents, while Bausch Health Companies dipped two cents to $6.34.
In gold stocks, Novagold fell 36 cents, or 5.6%, to $6.05, while Osisko Gold Royalties gave back 62 cents, or 1.7%, to $36.16.
Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with U.S. President Donald Trump by phone, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday. It mentioned the phone talks were at Trump's request but didn't provide further details.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada reported that in April, Canada's merchandise exports dropped 10.8%, while imports fell 3.5%.
As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $2.3 billion in March to $7.1 billion in April. This was the largest deficit on record.
Also, the IVEY PMI for May registered at 48.9, down from a 47.9 reading in April, and way off the 52.0 level in May 2024.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sagged 1.16 points to 718.27.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, as information technology backpedaled 1.1%, while health-care settled 1%, and gold dulled 0.1%.
The five gainers were driven by energy, up 0.6%, materials, better by 0.5%, and real-estate, improving 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 fell on Thursday, spurred by a drop in shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla
The Dow Jones Industrials retreated 108 points to 42,319.74.
The much-broader index rolled lower 31.51 points to 5,939.30
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 162.04 points to 19,298.45.
Tesla was a big laggard in the session, down more than 14% and losing its trillion-dollar market cap status. Shares slid after President Donald Trump said he was “very disappointed” in CEO Elon Musk. Musk shot back at the president, saying in a post on X that “without me, Trump would have lost the election.”
The feud further intensified after Trump called Musk ”‘CRAZY” and signaled that he might cut his companies’ government contracts.
During Thursday’s session, shares of bourbon maker Brown-Forman were slated for their worst day on record.
Stocks were volatile during the session after Beijing said Thursday that Trump and China President Xi Jinping held a phone call, which was initiated by Trump, according to Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese embassy in the U.S.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that it was a “very good phone call” with Xi, but it was still unclear what was accomplished from the communication between the two leaders. Trump said the two countries’ trade teams would be meeting again “shortly.”
The U.S. and China agreed to temporarily lower tariffs in May, propelling stocks to sharp gains for the month as investors hoped the worst of the tariff turmoil was behind them. The S&P 500 rose more than 6% last month, scoring its best month since November 2023, along with the NASDAQ.
Recently, however, escalating tensions between the U.S. and China has brought volatility back into the market. Stocks got a bit of a boost following an initial report of the call.
The report of the call initially gave stocks a bit of a boost following the release of new labor market data Thursday. Jobless claims last week came in at 247,000, an increase of 8,000 from the week before and more than the Dow Jones estimate of 236,000.
This comes one day after an estimate of private sector payrolls rose by just 37,000 in May, coming in sharply below the Dow Jones forecast for 110,000 and raising investors
Prices for the 10-year Treasury floundered, hiking yields to 4.40% from Wednesday’s 4.36%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 49 cents to $63.34 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slumped $19.20 to $3,380 U.S. an ounce.
