Investing.com - Canada’s main stock exchange climbed higher on Thursday, continuing a multi-day winning streak.
By the 4:00 ET close, the S&P/TSX 60 index bounced by 12.1 point, or 0.8%.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose by 205 points, or 0.8%. This follows Wednesday’s gain of 75.59 points, or 0.3%, which was its highest closing level since February 13.
In Canadian news, Statistics Canada reported that wholesale trade levels increased marginally in March, bolstered by the motor vehicle sector.
Additionally, a Nanos poll reported on by Bloomberg showed that nearly 80% of Canadians at least somewhat agreed that the old relationship between Canada and the U.S. is "over," reiterating sentiments that Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal party shared ahead of a parliamentary election win.
U.S. stocks close mixed
U.S. stock indexes proved mixed on Thursday, amid the week’s hefty gains, as investors looked ahead to fresh economic data and a slowing flow of corporate earnings.
At the 4:00 ET close, the Dow finished up 271.7 points, or 0.7%, and the S&P closed higher by 24.4 points, or 0.4%. However, volatility sent the tech-leveraged Nasdaq Composite down 34.5 points, or 0.2%, though the Nasdaq 100 was positive on the day.
The main Wall Street indices saw a mixed session on Wall Street, but are on course for strong gains this week, mainly boosted by optimism over a U.S.-China trade deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is on track for gains of over 2% this week so far, the S&P 500 index is up 4.5% and the NASDAQ Composite a substantial 6.6% higher.
Earnings
Though earnings season is winding down, Wednesday night and Thursday revealed key earnings releases that investors are using to gauge tariff affects on consumption and AI spending.
Wednesday after-hours earnings showed Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) and CoreWeave Inc (NASDAQ:CRWV), two important AI players, report outperforming results and strong guidance. Shares rose in the aftermarket for both, although it should be noted that CoreWeave stock fell after the earnings call due to significantly large CapEx guidance.
Thursday premarket earnings reports for Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) and Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) came in, sending both stocks lower. Walmart reported strong results, topping estimates and indicating consumption levels holding firm, but CFO John Rainey’s comments on CNBC flagged potentially unsustainable price hikes due to tariffs.
Alibaba reported YoY growth, but the stock still fell on slight earnings and revenue estimate misses. Analysts remained bullish on the Chinese company, as Alibaba Cloud growth increased 18% year-over-year.
Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) reported a mixed Q2 after market close on Thursday, as earnings beat but revenue missed and the semiconductor equipment maker reported guidance that was roughly in line with estimates. Take-Two Interactive Software (ETR:SOWGn) Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO) also reported mixed results after the bell, as the video game company lost out on an earnings boost by delaying the highly-anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI.
PPI inflation, retail sales slump
With the trade turmoil seemingly settling down, investors are turning their attention to the economic data slate, looking for signs of damage being done to the world’s largest economy.
The latest producer price index showed that factory gate prices slumped on a monthly basis in April, in the latest sign of cooling inflationary pressures.
The producer price index for final demand fell 0.5% in April, the first monthly fall since 2023, after the previous month’s figure was revised to flat from a fall of 0.4%.
Taking out more volatile items like fuel and food, so-called “core” PPI also fell on a monthly basis, down 0.4%.
Additionally, retail sales fell 1.0% on the month in March, a more substantial loss than the 0.5% expected.
A surge of buying before the implementation of Trump’s punishing tariffs led to the largest increase in the metric in more than two years in March. Separate surveys have indicated that households have widely been anticipating that the levies will push up prices.
Crude slumped on Iran nuclear deal talk
Oil prices fell sharply, extending recent losses, as the growing expectations for a potential U.S.-Iran nuclear deal added to demand concerns following a surprise build in U.S. inventories.
At 5:40 ET, Brent futures dropped 2.2% to $64.64 a barrel, and Crude Oil WTI Futures fell 2.3% to $61.70 a barrel.
Both benchmarks lost just under 1% on Wednesday, ending a four-day rally and slipping from the two-week high reached earlier this week.
A U.S.-Iran nuclear deal could potentially allow Tehran to export more of its crude into the world market, loosening the global crude supply-demand balance.
Additionally, data from the Energy Information Administration showed crude stockpiles rose by 3.5 million barrels in the week ended May 9, suggesting that demand may be cooling in the world’s largest energy consumer.
Gold prices slip to one-month low, attempts rebound
Gold prices fell to a one-month low in Asian trading, but recovered some of those losses, as a recent deescalation in the U.S.-China trade war boosted risk and undermined demand for safe havens.
The yellow metal was pressured by resilience in the dollar, as the greenback drew bids before more U.S. economic data, as well as the address by Powell. A spike in Treasury yields also weighed.
Spot gold was up 2% at $3,239.90 an ounce, while gold futures for June rose 1.7% to $3,243.75/oz by 5:40 ET.
(Scott Kanowsky and Peter Nurse also contributed to this article)