(MENAFN- Baystreet.ca) Equities in Toronto moved higher on Thursday, supported by energy stocks, although global growth concerns and a drop in shares of Rogers Communications kept a lid on further gains.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered 49.9 points to begin Thursday at 16,594.14
The Canadian dollar lost 0.18 cents at 74.73 cents U.S.
Markets will be closed Friday for Good Friday
Rogers reported an 8% fall in quarterly profit, as the company recorded lower revenue in both its wireless equipment and media segments.
Rogers shares lost $2.48, or 3.5%, to $68.46.
Canopy Growth Corp is reportedly close to a deal to buy U.S.-based pot firm Acreage Holdings. Canopy shares triumphed $4.08, or 7.1%, to $61.19.
Katanga Mining, a unit of Glencore Plc, on Wednesday named Glencore Coal's chief development officer Jeff Gerard to the top job, taking over from Danny Callow.
Katanga shares shed half a cent, or 1%, to 47.5 cents
National Bank of Canada cut the target price on Almaden Minerals to $1.20 from $1.40. Almaden shares docked two cents, or 2.6%, to 74 cents.
CIBC raised the price target on Kinder Morgan Canada to $15.00 from $14.75. Kinder shares acquired 39 cents, or 2.6%, to $15.55.
Credit Suisse raised the price target on Teck Resources to $42 from $38. Teck shares faded 33 cents, or 1%, to $33.32.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada said, following three consecutive monthly declines, retail sales rose 0.8% in February to $50.6 billion. Sales were up in five of 11 sectors, representing 73% of retail trade.
Also, in February, 441,200 people received regular Employment Insurance benefits, an increase of 4,400 or 1.0% from January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.49 points early Thursday to 611.28
All but three of the 12 Toronto subgroups were in the green in the first hour, as health-care acquired 2.3%, with industrials and materials each improved 0.5%.
The three laggards were communications, down 1.2%, while information technology dawdled 0.2%, and consumer staples were 0.01% to the bad.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks gave up most of their earlier gains on Thursday as losses in the health-care sector continued for a third straight day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 45.56 points to 26,495.10
The S&P 500 dipped 6.08 points to 2,894.37
The NASDAQ Composite fell 40.94 points to 7,955.14
The health-care sector is down more than 5% this week as investors worry over proposals pushed by Democratic lawmakers. UnitedHealth CEO David Wichmann told analysts in a conference call earlier this week that propositions like "Medicare for All" would "jeopardize the relationship people have with their doctors, destabilize the nation's health system and limit the ability of clinicians to practice medicine at their best."
Shares of Pfizer and Centene led the decline in health care on Thursday, as they both fell nearly 3%. Biogen, Allergan and Abiomed also traded lower.
Health-care's pull back dampened the positive sentiment sparked by stronger-than-expected retail sales data and corporate earnings reports that topped analyst estimates.
The corporate earnings season also continued on Thursday as companies like Honeywell and BB&T reported better-than-expected profits. Shares of the two companies rose more than 1% each.
So far, more than 78% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported have topped analyst expectations
Retail sales in the U.S. rose by 1.6% last month, the strongest gain since September 2017. Economists expected a gain of 0.9%.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were higher, thus lowering yields to 2.55% from Wednesday's 2.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped three cents to $63.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices increased 80 cents to $1,277.60 U.S. an ounce.
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