Canadian stocks climbed on Thursday as falling bond yields and rising commodity prices boosted investor sentiment, while markets also weighed evolving U.S. tariff policies.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 0.5% to 24,604.05 points, and was on course for the third successive daily gain.
The heavily weighted energy sector added 0.6% as oil prices recovered some losses on Thursday.
Materials also climbed 0.6% after gold prices rebounded, as investors bought bullion following a sharp decline in the previous session.
“Any sign of commodities stabilizing, I think is a good sign in today’s market,” said Michael Sprung, president at Sprung Investment Management.
Canadian government bond yields fell across the curve with 10-year bond yields falling 5.8 basis points to 3.191%.
Falling yields, which reduce the risk-free rate benchmark, decrease borrowing costs and enhance the value of companies’ future cash flows.
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Among index sectors, information technology rose over 1%; electronics manufacturer Celestica led sector gains at 5%. Healthcare stocks advanced 1.3%, buoyed by cannabis producer Tilray Brands, which surged 4%
On the flip side, consumer staples lost the most, falling 0.4%.
China on Thursday called for all “unilateral” U.S. tariffs to be canceled, as signs emerged that the Trump administration may de-escalate its trade war with Beijing.
On Wednesday, TSX had climbed to a three-week high as some optimism took hold of a letup in the global trade war.
However, later that day, Trump said a 25% tariff on cars imported from Canada to the United States could go up.
Investors’ attention was also divided among a series of earnings reports from U.S. companies, which presented a mixed picture.
Among domestic earnings, miner Teck Resources beat first-quarter expectations, helped by higher commodity prices and copper sales volumes. Its shares rose 3.8%.