Equities
Canada’s main stock index fell at Thursday’s opening bell with material and tech shares under pressure. On Wall Street, key indexes were lower after better-than-expected economic news out of the United States again brought interest rate concerns to the forefront.
At 9:31 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 91.99 points, or 0.47 per cent, at 19,479.11.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 143.13 points, or 0.43 per cent, at the open to 33,233.35. The S&P 500 opened lower by 25.18 points, or 0.65 per cent, at 3,853.26, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 161.50 points, or 1.51 per cent, to 10550.10 at the opening bell.
On Thursday, Wall Street traders got the final reading on third-quarter U.S. GDP. New figures showed economic growth during the quarter was revised up to 3.2 per cent from the previous estimate of 2.9 per cent. Meanwhile, U.S. weekly jobless claims rose by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000 for the week ended Dec. 17.
Friday's analyst upgrades and downgrades
In Canada, investors are looking ahead to Friday’s reading on broad economic growth with the release of GDP figures for October. Economists are forecasting an increase of about 0.1 per cent from September. The report comes just days after Statistics Canada said the annual rate of inflation in Canada eased slightly to 6.8 per cent in November, from 6.9 per cent a month earlier.
On the corporate side, Canada has blocked Glencore Plc’s proposed coal mine project in British Columbia, citing significant environmental damage, according to Reuters.
“After careful deliberation, the Government of Canada has determined the significant adverse environmental effects of the proposed Sukunka Coal Mine Project, an open-pit metallurgical coal mine located near Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, could not be mitigated,” the federal government said in a release on Wednesday.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was off 0.14 per cent by midday. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.36 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.35 per cent and 0.15 per cent, respectively.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed up 0.46 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.71 per cent led by gains in property and tech shares.
Commodities
Crude prices advanced for a fourth consecutive session after U.S. government figures showed a bigger-than-forecast decline in weekly inventories.
The day range on Brent was US$82.18 to US$83.50 in the early premarket period. The range on West Texas Intermediate was US$78.30 to US$79.64.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories fell 5.89 million barrels for the week ending on Dec. 16, far more than analysts had been forecasting. Distillate stocks also declined. Analysts had expected an increase in that segment, which includes heating oil.
“Crude prices are rallying after stockpiles declined more than expected and as OPEC+ remains committed to keeping supplies tight,” OANDA senior analyst Ed Moya said.
“The EIA report showed that crude, gasoline, and distillate demand improved from the prior week. Gasoline inventories rose but that was somewhat to be expected as peak driving season is well behind us.”
In other commodities, gold prices were little changed at US$1,815.36 per ounce early Thursday morning, while U.S. gold futures held steady at US$1,824.10.
“Gold prices are ready to enter holiday mode as the bond market selloff has run out of steam,” Mr. Moya said.
“It looks like gold might struggle to get anywhere close to the US$1850 level unless we see a fresh major catalyst,” he said in a note.
Currencies
The Canadian dollar was slightly higher helped by improved risk sentiment while its U.S. counterpart slid against a group of currencies.
The day range on the loonie was 73.41 US cents to 73.69 US cents in the predawn period.
There were no major Canadian economic releases due Thursday.
On world markets, the U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, fell 0.3 per cent to 103.92.
The euro was last 0.31 per cent higher at US$1.0638, according to figures from Reuters. Britain’s pound rose 0.32 per cent to US$1.2123, partially reversing its 0.85- per-cent overnight fall.
The Australian dollar advanced 0.66 per cent to US$0.6752, while the New Zealand dollar gained 0.26 per cent to US$0.6311.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was lower at 3.647 per cent early Thursday morning.
More company news
TSX-Listed Superior Plus Corp will acquire Certarus Ltd for $1.05-billion including debt, the two companies said on Thursday. The deal would add Certarus’ low carbon fuels to Superior’s portfolio, including compressed natural gas, renewable natural gas and hydrogen. Certarus has 18 hubs throughout Canada and the United States. The equity value of the deal is $853-million, with Superior also assuming Certarus’ outstanding senior bank credit and leases worth $196-million. -Reuters
Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has signed a deal to buy all of the membership interests of U.S. company True Blue Car Wash LLC. Financial terms of the agreement for the operator of car wash sites under the Clean Freak and Rainstorm banners were not immediately available. -The Canadian Press
Chipmaker Micron Technology Inc on Wednesday forecast a much steeper-than-expected second-quarter loss and said it will lay off 10 per cent of its workforce next year, citing a nagging glut in the semiconductor market. “Due to the significant supply demand mismatch entering calendar 2023, we expect that profitability will remain challenged throughout 2023,” Micron chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra said. Micron had about 48,000 employees worldwide as of September 1. -Reuters
Economic news
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week ended Dec. 17.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. Real GDP for Q3.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. Chicago Fed National Activity Index for November.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. leading indicator for November.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press