Canada’s main stock index rebounded from early losses to end in the black as technology, materials and other sectors rose while U.S. markets also made up some lost ground on Thursday.
The rebound came as Apple Inc. crested the US$1-trillion valuation mark on the Nasdaq composite index — the first company to do so — helping the technology sector in general recover somewhat from recent losses.
The S&P/TSX capped information technology index saw the biggest gains of the day, up 2.44%, as Wilan parent company Quarterhill Inc. surged 28.1% on a $145.1-million patent infringement win against Apple, and Shopify Inc. climbed by 5.9%.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up by 32.39 points at 16,409.16 as consumer discretionary, health-care, materials and industrials also rose.
Materials stocks were up despite a slip in the copper price, while the S&P/TSX capped energy index saw some of the biggest losses of the day with a 0.6% drop despite a rise in oil prices.
The disconnect in oil prices compared with equities shows the market has only so much faith that crude prices can remain elevated, said Kash Pashootan, CEO and chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel Inc.
“When you see the energy producers and energy stocks not behaving or participating in nearly the same way as oil prices have appreciated, that’s further evidence that the market doesn’t believe those oil prices are sustainable,” he said.
Looking at the market as a whole, Pashootan is concerned the market is starting to shrug off trade concerns after only a limited reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest threat to increase tariffs against China.
“We view that as complacency, and the market turning a blind eye to factors that could cause equity markets to derail,” he said.
Pashootan added that he was concerned the market is not pricing in the myriad risks that have emerged recently.
“The markets right now have priced in sunshine and fresh flowers, the markets in no way are pricing in tariffs, fed tightening, or inflation,” he said
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down by 7.66 points at 25,326.16. The S&P 500 composite index closed up by 13.86 points at 2,827.22 and the Nasdaq was up by 95.40 points at 7,802.69.
The Canadian dollar averaged US76.84¢, down by US0.07¢.
The September crude contract closed up by US$1.30 at US$68.96 a barrel and the September natural gas contract was up by US6¢ at US$2.82 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract ended down by US$7.50 at $1,220.10 an ounce and the September copper contract was down a penny at $2.74 a pound.