Investing.com -- Canada’s main stock exchange closed higher on Thursday, as investors weighed a bevy of earnings from corporate America and eyed developments around U.S. tariffs on China.
By the 4:00 ET close, the S&P/TSX 60 index gained 14.4 points or 1%.
Toronto Stock Exchange ’s composite index jumped by 254.9 points or 1%. This comes after an incline of 166.70 points, or 0.7%, on Wednesday, notching its highest close since April 2.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said sky-high tariffs between the world’s two largest economies were unsustainable, supporting hopes for a detente between Washington and Beijing.
President Donald Trump later said he wants to secure a "fair deal" with China over trade, although he did not lay out any specifics around possible negotiations.
Bolstering stocks in Canada were shares in e-commerce company Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP ), which helped give lift to the wider technology sector and offset a dip in energy names.
Additionally, shares in Andlauer Healthcare rocketed after United Parcel (NYSE: UPS ) Services announced the acquisition of the company for CAD$2.2 billion.
Markets are also looking ahead to a key election in Canada on April 28, with both of the top candidates vowing to fast track energy projects to help diversify oil exports away from the United States.
Trump’s tariffs and his talk of turning Canada into the 51st U.S. state have sparked widespread outrage in the country and underpinned a national discussion around diversifying its energy supplies. Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, dismissed Trump’s suggestions, calling the idea impossible and doubling down on Canada’s sovereignty in the final stretch before the federal election.
CFIB also issued a quarterly report, seeing a significant contraction in Q2. The report reinforces growing concerns that small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) are entering a period of heightened stress marked by weak demand, rising inflation, and disruptive trade tensions.
U.S. stocks pop
U.S. stock indexes bounced on Thursday, after a second-consecutive winning day ahead of upcoming earnings from tech giant Alphabet.
By the 4:00 ET close, the Dow was up 486.8 points or 1.2%, the S&P had risen 108.9 points or 2%, and the Nasdaq gained 458 points or 2.7%.
The main Wall Street indices posted strong gains Wednesday as Trump flagged some potential in reducing steep trade tariffs on China, while also tempering his rhetoric against the Federal Reserve.
The benchmark S&P 500 rose 1.7%, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite rallied 2.5%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1, although they ended below their intraday highs.
All three of the major averages are on pace for weekly gains, with the Nasdaq up 2.6%, the S&P 500 up nearly 1.8%, while the DJIA is on pace for a 1.2% advance.
A string of positive quarterly earnings has aided sentiment by setting a strong precedent for the remainder of the earnings season.
Before market open on Thursday, toymaker Hasbro Inc (NASDAQ: HAS ) stock climbed after the toymaker reported first-quarter revenue that beat expectations, helped by strength in its digital gaming segment. Conversely, PepsiCo Inc (NASDAQ: PEP ) stock fell after the soft drinks giant cut its annual core profit forecast, as it grapples with disruptions to its supply chain.
All eyes were on Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) at market close, in which they reported strong Q1 results and disclosed that the company’s CapEx goal of $75 million is still intact. For the three months ended Mar. 31, the internet search giant reported earnings of $2.81 per share on revenue of $90.23 billion. That compared with expectations for income of $2.02 a share on revenue of $89.32B.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC ) also reported earnings, beating Wall Street expectations for first-quarter earnings and revenue but a disappointing forecast for the current quarter sent its shares down roughly 4.5% in extended trading. The chipmaker reported adjusted earnings of 13 cents per share, topping analysts’ expectations for breakeven results. Revenue came in at $12.7 billion, above the $12.25 billion consensus and flat from a year earlier.
Crude prices inch higher
Oil prices edged higher after dropping in the previous session on reports of increased supply from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
At 5:40 ET, Brent futures climbed 0.1% to $66.53 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.8% to $62.79 a barrel.
Both contracts settled around 2% lower on Wednesday after Reuters reported that several oil producing nations in the OPEC producer group are pushing to accelerate output hikes in June, extending May’s surprise boost.
OPEC and allies like Russia -- a group known as OPEC+ -- are set to meet next month to finalize the June plan.
Gold bounces
Gold prices climbed on Thursday, rebounding from recent losses as doubts over a de-escalation in the U.S.-China trade war persisted.
Bullion had fallen from record highs this week after Trump raised the prospect of eventually reducing steep trade duties on China. But lingering uncertainty around Trump’s future tariff plans made the yellow metal’s fall short-lived.
Spot gold rose 1.8% to $3,348.73 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in June rose 2% to $3,361.30/oz by 5:40 ET.
Analysts at JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM ) forecast that spot prices could rise as high as $4,000/oz by next year.
(Scott Kanowsky also contributed to this article)