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Toronto Stocks Triumph on Health, Energy Gains
Equities on this side of the border had some jump in their step Thursday, as the energy and health-care sectors advanced, while non-bank lender Home Capital Group jumped after it said it would get a line of credit from Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index leaped 103.44 points to greet noon at 15,251.97
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.54 cents to 75.56 cents U.S.
In the health-care sector, Valeant Pharmaceuticals shares darted 10% to $20.04, on news of recognition for its Bausch & Lomb subsidiary.
Shares of energy companies got a boost from higher oil prices. Suncor Energy Inc rose 0.4% to $38.41, and Canadian Natural Resources gained 0.7% to $37.72.
Shares of Home Capital rose 12.2% to $16.76 after it said billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire would provide a $2-billion loan to its Home Trust Co unit.
Elsewhere in financials, Royal Bank of Canada climbed 0.8% at $94.00 and Bank of Nova Scotia gaining 0.9% to $79.73.
Consumer staples were tamed by losses in Restaurant Brands, which capsized 0.3% to $82.08, and Empire Co., which runs the Sobeys chain of grocery stores. Empire shares remained static at $19.07.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that the number of regular Employment Insurance beneficiaries fell by 7,000, or 1.3%, to 541,200 in April, a sixth consecutive monthly decline.
The agency also said retail trade rose 0.8% to $48.6 billion in April. Sales were up in nine of 11 sub-sectors, representing 71% of total retail trade. Excluding sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales climbed 1.5%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched up 0.19 points to 771.99
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups climbed the charts, with health-care hiking 4.5%, while energy and materials moved forward 1.2% each.
The two laggards were consumer staples, off 0.1%, and telecoms, hesitating 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday, led by strong gains in the health care sector.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 22.02 points by noon ET at 21,432.05, with UnitedHealth contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 faded 1.17 points to 2,434.44, with health-care rising more than 1% to lead advancers.
The NASDAQ shed 4.76 points to 6,229.19
Health-care stocks have been on a tear this week as investors braced for the unveiling of the Senate's health care bill, with aims at repealing and replacing Obamacare.
In corporate news, shares of American Airlines jumped more than 1.5% after the airline disclosed Qatar Airways had approached the firm about taking a large stake in the company. Other airline stocks like Delta Air Lines, Southwest and United followed American shares higher.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note lost ground, raising yields to Wednesday’s 2.16%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gathered 59 cents to $43.12 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $5.90 to $1,251.70 U.S. an ounce.
