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TSX Begins with Moderate Gains

Equities in Toronto rose at the open on Thursday, led by gains in financial stocks and as Shaw Communications ...

Equities in Toronto rose at the open on Thursday, led by gains in financial stocks and as Shaw Communications shares advanced after reporting a better-than-expected profit.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 38.89 points to begin Thursday at 15,296.79

The Canadian dollar surrendered 0.16 cents at 79.36 cents U.S.

Shaw shares spiked $1.76, or 7.3%, to $25.83.

Barclays cut the price target on CI Financial to $31.00 from $32.00. CI gained a penny to $27.11.

Barclays cut the price target on IGM Financial to $40.00 from $42.00. IGM shares gave back a penny to $37.02.

Desjardins cut the target price on Manulife Financial to $28.00 from $30.00. Manulife shares galloped 37 cents, or 1.6%, to $23.49.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to apply pressure on British Columbia's provincial government to drop its resistance to a pipeline project, but will try to avoid tougher measures that might alienate voters who helped his Liberals win power.

A principal company affected by the blocking of the pipeline project, Kinder Morgan, saw its stock gain 38 cents, or 2.3%, to $16.97.

U.S. President Donald Trump amended on Thursday an earlier warning of a quick military strike against Syria in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack on civilians, saying it "could be very soon or not so soon at all".

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange added 3.31 points, opening for business Thursday at 781.02

Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, with consumer discretionary stocks up 1.4%, health-care ahead 0.9%, and information technology gaining 0.8%.

Four laggards were weighed most by gold and materials, down 0.7% each, while telecoms faded 0.3%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks rose sharply on Thursday after President Donald Trump clarified his position on a possible missile attack in Syria, while the latest earnings season kicked off.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 307.88 points, or 1.3%, to 24,497.33, with IBM leading the index higher.

The S&P 500 jumped 27.87 points, or 1.1%, to 2,670.06, as financials gained 1.3%.

The NASDAQ Composite index rocketed 90.11 points, or 1.3%, to 7,159.14

Tech stocks helped the indexes rise, as Amazon, Apple and Netflix all traded higher. Banks shares gained as well, with J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs all climbing more than 1.5%.

Stocks rebounded Thursday as the latest corporate earnings season began. Before the bell, BlackRock posted earnings per share and revenue that surpassed analyst expectations. The asset manager's stock rose 1.7%.

Delta Air Lines reported quarterly earnings that beat estimates, despite rising costs. The company's stock rose 2% before the bell.
Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo are among the companies scheduled to report Friday morning.

Investors have high expectations for this earnings season. According to FactSet, S&P 500 earnings are forecast to have grown by 17.1% last quarter. That would be the biggest quarterly earnings growth since the first quarter of 2011, when they rose 19.5%.

In a tweet, Trump said: "Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all! In any event, the United States, under my Administration, has done a great job of ridding the region of ISIS. Where is our 'Thank you America?'"

Stocks also added to their gains after Trump reportedly told lawmakers that a deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement was close.

Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell sharply, raising yields to 2.82% from Wednesday’s 2.78%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices folded 49 cents a barrel to $66.33 U.S.

Gold prices slid $17.20 to $1,342.80 U.S. an ounce.