The TSX Composite Index popped 233.96 points to conclude Thursday at 27,386.93.
The Canadian dollar swooned 0.27 cents at 72.75 cents U.S.
Circle K-operator Alimentation Couche-Tard pulled its $46-billion bid to buy 7-Eleven's parent company Seven & i Holdings, saying the Japanese retailer did not engage constructively on the deal that would have created a global convenience store giant. Shares in Couche-Tard rocketed $5.68, or 8.3%, to $74.00.
Info tech stocks added strength, with Shopify gaining $10.09, or 6.2%, to $174.21.
In consumer discretionary stocks, Gildan Activewear sprang $4.47, or 6.1%, to $73.63, while Aritzia gained $1.50, or 2.1%, to $74.27.
Financials also climbed, as Brookfield Asset Management jumped $3.24, or 4.2%, to $84.59, while Brookfield Corp. moved up $3.73, or 4.2%, to $93.77.
Gold weighed things down, though, with Osisko Gold Royalties slipping 53 cents, or 1.4%, to $37.22, while Lundin Gold descended $1.12, or 1.7%, to $64.23.
Materials also slid, with Orla Mining dipped 40 cents, or 2.5%, to $15.74, while SSR Mining lost 30 cents, or 1.8%, to $16.68.
Among telecoms, Rogers skidded 56 cents, or 1.2%, to $45.49, while BCE slid 29 cents to $33.14,
Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday that steel tariff quotas will be introduced for countries with which Canada has free trade agreements, excluding the U.S., in a bid to protect the domestic steel industry.
The move follows U.S. President Donald Trump increasing import duties on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25% earlier this month. But existing arrangements with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will be upheld.
Investors are monitoring tariff updates with the August 1 deadline quickly approaching. Japan held talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday and Europe Union's trade chief headed to Washington on Wednesday.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported Canadian investors acquired $13.4 billion of foreign securities in May, led by purchases of U.S. shares.
Meanwhile, foreign investors reduced their exposure to Canadian securities by $2.8 billion, marking a fourth consecutive monthly divestment.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 4.85 points to 791.66.
Nine of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher Thursday, as information technology soared 2.5%, consumer discretionary stocks, better by 1.9%, and financials, up 1.1%.
The three laggards were gold, down 0.6%, telecoms, off 0.4%, and materials, backing off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Thursday, buoyed by fresh economic data reports along with a slew of corporate earnings releases.
The Dow Jones Industrials rumbled 229.71 points higher to end Thursday at 44,484.49
The S&P 500 index added 33.66 points to 6,297.36, its ninth record close of the year.
The NASDAQ Composite surged 153.78 points to 20,884.27.
This week, the S&P 500 is on pace for a 0.6% advance, while the 30-stock Dow is tracking for a 0.3% gain. The NASDAQ is the outperformer thus far, up about 1.5% in the period.
PepsiCo shares jumped more than 7% on the back of better-than-expected earnings. United Airlines gained 3% after the airline beat earnings estimates.
Quarterly earnings reports released this week have exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, fueling investor confidence. Around 50 S&P 500 components have reported thus far, with 88% of those exceeding analysts’ expectations, FactSet data shows.
Key data releases on Thursday reflected strength in the U.S. economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending July 12 came out at 221,000, marking a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week.
Separately, retail sales in June rose more than expected, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Retail sales were up 0.6% from May, beating the 0.2% estimate from the Dow Jones consensus.
Wall Street is coming off a volatile trading session after President Donald Trump denied that he was planning to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell from his position as Fed chief.
Prices for the 10-year treasury lost ground, pushing yields up to 4.46% from Wednesday’s 4.45%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices restocked $1.23 to $67.61 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $13.70 to $3,345.40 U.S. an ounce.
