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Stocks Shoot Higher by Noon

Equities in Canada’s largest centre sprang back up again on Thursday, rebounding from its worst session in nearly a month, after upbeat earnings from Suncor Energy boosted oil and gas shares.

The TSX Composite continued on the upward path, gaining 151.82 points to head toward noon hour at 21,106.81.

The Canadian dollar acquired 0.24 cents to 81.07 cents U.S.

Suncor shares galloped $2.67, or 9.5%, to $30.89.

Meanwhile, Shopify hurtled higher $111.65, or 6.6%, to $1,793.32 after the e-commerce giant reported third-quarter results that fell short of analysts' expectations, dragging the broader technology sector down 0.1%

Limiting gains was the materials sector, down 0.5%, with Alamos Gold being the biggest decliner on the index after the gold miner reported dismal quarterly earnings. Alamos shares gave back 71 cents, or 6.9%, to $9.52.

Shares in Bombardier were up four cents, or 1.9%, to $2.15, as the company posted a smaller second-quarter loss, helped by a rebound in demand for private jets from corporations and wealthy buyers. Bombardier

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported payroll employment increased by 59,700, or 0.4%, in August, driven by gains in the services-producing sector in Ontario and Quebec.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange gained 7.85 points to 954.64

All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, with information technology up 2.1%, energy ahead 1.4%, and consumer discretionary stocks better by 1.1%.

The three laggards were gold, down 1.5%, materials, worse off by 0.6%, and real-estate retreating 0.3%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks climbed on Thursday as strong earnings from major companies bolstered the equity markets.

The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 166.11 points to 35,656.80

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The S&P 500 regained 36.95 points to 4,588.29

The NASDAQ Composite hiked 167.95 points or 1.1%, to 15.403.75.

The S&P 500 has gained 5.6% in October, on pace to post its best month since November 2020. The Dow is up 4.9% this month, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ has rallied 5.5%.

Ford was a standout in early trading, as its shares jumped more than 8% on blockbuster earnings while also raising guidance. The automaker said increased availability of semiconductors during the quarter allowed it to ramp up production. Mastercard, Merck and Caterpillar also moved higher following earnings beats.

Shares of Apple and Amazon, which report after the bell on Thursday, were moving higher to boost the NASDAQ. Shares of Tesla rose 3%, continuing a strong stretch after last week’s earnings beat.

The move for stocks came despite a disappointing economic report on Thursday. Gross Domestic Product growth for the third-quarter came in at 2.0%, below the 2.8% expected. The reading marks a slowdown from 6.7% growth in the second quarter.

On a more positive note for the economy, weekly initial jobless claims came in at 281,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting 289,000 claims.

Earnings season has seen some weak spots. Shares of Twilio and eBay were under pressure on Thursday after disappointing quarterly reports. The market will be getting more big earnings news later in the day, with tech giants Amazon and Apple reporting after the closing bell.

Wall Street was also monitoring events in Washington, where Democrats and President Joe Biden appear to have reached a deal on a $1.75-trillion social spending bill.

Prices for 10-year Treasurys swooned, raising yields to 1.55% from Wednesday’s 1.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices weakened 72 cents to $81.94 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices recovered $5.40 to $1,805.10 U.S. an ounce.