The Canadian stock market is up slightly in early trade Thursday, recovering some of the ground it lost during the previous session. The Industrial sector is leading the way higher this morning, while energy and financial stocks are also providing some support.
Markets in Europe are rising after the European Central Bank announced that it will reduce the size of its asset purchases at the start of next year, while extending them for nine months. The central bank also kept all three of its interest rates unchanged.
Markets in the United States are mixed in early trade Thursday. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up slightly, while the Nasdaq is trading in the red. Traders are sifting through a number of earnings report on what will be the heaviest day of the earnings reporting season.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 43.77 points or 0.28 percent at 15,898.54.
On Wednesday, the index closed down 50.37 points or 0.32 percent, at 15,854.77. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,894.52 and a low of 15,816.52.
The Capped Industrials Index is up 0.89 percent. Bombardier (BBD-B.TO) is higher by 1.09 percent and Finning International (FTT.TO) is adding 0.11 percent. WestJet Airlines (WJA.TO) is advancing 2.26 percent and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) is climbing 0.47 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) is up 0.02 percent and Air Canada (AC.TO) is rising 0.92 percent.
The Capped Telecommunication Services Index is up 0.50 percent. TELUS (T.TO) is increasing 0.87 percent and BCE (BCE.TO) is adding 0.42 percent. Rogers Communications (RCI-B.TO) is higher by 0.21 percent.
The Capped Information Technology Index is gaining 0.50 percent. Constellation Software (CSU.TO) is up 0.43 percent and Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) is advancing 0.26 percent. Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) is also rising 0.43 percent.
The heavyweight Financial Index is increasing 0.40 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) is climbing 0.63 percent and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) is rising 0.64 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) is up 0.08 percent and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) is higher by 0.60 percent. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is advancing 0.41 percent.
The Energy Index is rising 0.44 percent. Crude oil prices are little changed Thursday morning, holding around $52 per barrel.
Husky Energy (HSE.TO) is rising 2.09 percent and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is climbing 2.49 percent. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is increasing 0.65 percent and Enbridge (ENB.TO) is adding 0.10 percent. Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) is advancing 1.09 percent.
The Capped Materials Index is down 0.79 percent. Agrium (AGU.TO) is dropping 1.44 percent.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT.TO) is slipping 0.30 percent after the company said that it narrowed its full-year 2017 earnings guidance and now estimate $0.48-$0.54 per share. Third quarter earnings were down 35%.
The Capped Healthcare Index is lower by 0.50 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX.TO) is declining 1.81 percent.
The Gold Index is increasing 0.01 percent. Gold prices are slightly lower Thursday morning after the European Central Bank extended its quantitative easing program.
Goldcorp (G.TO) is climbing 5.22 percent after it released earnings for its third quarter that rose from last year. The company said its bottom line came in at $111 million, or $0.13 per share. This was higher than $59 million, or $0.07 per share, in last year's third quarter.
Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) is weakening by 5.30 percent after it announced a profit for third quarter that decreased from last year. The company said its profit dropped to $186 million, or $0.16 per share. This was down from $278 million, or $0.24 per share, in last year's third quarter.
Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR-B.TO) is down 0.66 percent after it announced earnings for its fourth quarter that climbed compared to the same period last year. The company said its bottom line advanced to C$149 million, or C$0.30 per share. This was up from C$145 million, or C$0.29 per share, in last year's fourth quarter.
On the economic front, Eurozone broad money supply rose at a faster pace and private sector credit logged a stable growth in September, data from the European Central Bank showed Thursday. The broad monetary aggregate M3 climbed 5.1 percent year-on-year, slightly faster than the 5 percent increase seen in August. M3 was forecast to grow again by 5 percent in September.
German consumer confidence is set to fall in November, survey data from market research group GfK showed Thursday. The forward-looking consumer sentiment index fell unexpectedly to 10.7 in November from 10.8 in October. The score was forecast to remain unchanged at 10.8.
British retailers reported a sharp contraction in sales, disappointing expectations for a solid expansion, the Distributive Trades Survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed Thursday. A net balance of -36 percent said sales declined in October from a year ago, the biggest since March 2009.
After reporting first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits at their lowest level in over forty years in the previous week, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a modest rebound in initial jobless claims in the week ended October 21st.
The report said initial jobless claims rose to 233,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level of 223,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge up to 235,000 from the 222,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Pending home sales in the U.S. were unexpectedly flat in the month of September, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. NAR said its pending home sales index came in at 106.0 in September, unchanged from a downwardly revised reading for August. Economists had expected pending home sales to rise by 0.2 percent.
In commodities, crude oil futures for November delivery are down 0.20 or 0.38 percent at $51.98 a barrel.
Natural gas for November is down 0.029 or 0.99 percent at $2.89 per million btu.
Gold futures for December are down 4.00 or 0.31 percent at $1,275.00 an ounce.
Silver for December is down 0.02 or 0.12 percent at $16.905 an ounce.
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