Intel stock spikes after report of possible US government stake
Investing.com - Canada’s main stock exchange clinched a record high on Thursday, as investors assessed a fresh batch of U.S. corporate earnings.
Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index gained 233.96 points, or 0.86% settling at 27,386.93
Meanwhile, in Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the country would roll out a tariff rate quota for nations with which it has a free trade agreement, excluding the U.S., as part of a bid to protect the domestic steel industry.
U.S. stocks higher
On Wall Street, U.S. stock index ended higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 230.32 points, or 0.52%, the S&P 500 index gained 33.78 points, or 0.52%, and the NASDAQ Compositegained 153.78 points, or 0.74%.
Helping the tone has been a largely positive start to the new quarterly earnings season, with the major banks mostly beating expectations even as their executives presented a cautious outlook for the coming months.
The parade of U.S. company reports continues Thursday, highlighted in particular by numbers from Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) after markets close.
Analysts at Vital Knowledge said they anticipate that the group will "put up very healthy results as its dominance" of the streaming sector "expands," although worries remain that the near-term expectations around Netflix may be "too frothy."
Elsewhere, GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE), PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP), Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV), and Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) are among the names set to post their latest returns prior to the opening bell on Wall Street.
Earlier in the session, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) reported record profit in the second quarter, beating market expectations, as the world’s biggest contract chipmaker was bolstered by ever-more robust artificial intelligence demand.
Retail sales, jobless claims due
Beyond corporate earnings, investors will study the release of the latest retail sales and jobless claims data for clues of the health of the U.S. economy, and thus the likelihood of future Fed rate cuts.
U.S. economic activity rose in June and early July, but the outlook remains clouded by the potential impact of Trump’s aggressive tariff agenda, according to the so-called "Beige Book" from the Federal Reserve, released on Wednesday
At the Fed’s June policy meeting, officials penciled in two rate cuts for later this year and markets believe the reductions could start at the September FOMC meeting.
That said, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Wednesday that it was too soon to consider lowering interest rates, citing growing inflationary pressure from tariffs and persistent uncertainty in the economic outlook.
Crude steadies after losses
Oil prices stabilized after three losing days, buoyed to a degree by stronger-than-expected economic data from the world’s top oil consumers.
Brent futures rose 0.74% to $69 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded 1.22% higher to $67.19 a barrel.
China, the world’s largest crude importer, reported better-than-expected growth data recently, helping the overall tone, while the U.S.’s larger-than-expected oil inventory draw has also been a bullish factor.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels to 422.2 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, a steeper decline than expected, suggesting stronger refinery activity, tighter supply, and increased demand.
Gold inches down
Gold prices fell amid some improvement in risk appetite after Trump’s comments soothed some fears that he will soon fire Powell.
Still, haven demand for gold remained in play, as uncertainty continued to swirl around Trump’s elevated "reciprocal" tariffs, which are set to take effect in just over two weeks.
Spot gold fell 0.32% to $3,336.90 an ounce, while gold futures for September dropped 0.5% to $3,342.37/oz