Canada Stocks: TSX edges up as consumer discretionary, tech stocks advance

BlackBerry

04/04/2024 15:26

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      TSX up 0.3% 
    

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      Consumer discretionary stocks lead gains
    

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      Dollarama forecast above estimates; shares rise 
    

  
 (Updated at 10:02 a.m. ET/ 1402 GMT)
    By Purvi Agarwal
       April 4 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged
higher on Thursday, boosted by consumer discretionary stocks
following Dollarama's upbeat sales forecast, while investors
awaited more clues on the timing of interest rate cuts by the
Federal Reserve in the United States. 
    At 10:02 a.m. ET (14:02 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index  .GSPTSE  was up 76.14 points, or 0.34%,
at 22,188.6.
    Consumer discretionary shares  .GSPTTCD  jumped 1.6%,
leading gains on the index. The sector was pulled up by discount
store operator Dollarama  DOL.TO  that gained 6.5% after it
forecast annual and quarterly sales above estimates on Thursday.
    Technology stocks  .SPTTTK  followed suit with a 0.5% rise.
Software firm Blackberry  BB.TO  climbed 2.6% after it reported
a surprise profit in its fourth-quarter numbers, driven by
higher demand for cybersecurity services. 
    Heavy-weight financial stocks  .SPTTFS  also advanced 0.9%. 
    Resources shares were the outliers among the broad rally
with energy  .SPTTEN  and materials  .GSPTTMT  shares declining
0.4% each. 
    Stateside, the number of Americans filing new claims for
unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week as
labor market conditions gradually eased, data showed on
Thursday. 
    "The latest economic reports are increasing the prospects of
interest rate cuts by the Fed. The (jobless claims data) gives
greater confidence that inflation is falling to the 2% target,"
said Graham Priest, investment advisor at BlueShore Financial.
    Investor focus will now shift to the non-farm payrolls data
due on Friday. 
    The datasets follow Fed Chair Powell’s comments on Wednesday
that reiterated that the U.S. central bank has time to
deliberate over its first rate cut, considering the economy's
stamina and high inflation.
    "Powell's remarks calmed the markets, resulting in stocks
finishing the day on a high note. Inflation has started to
decline, but they want to see more positive data before pulling
the trigger," Priest added. 
    Among other Canadian stocks, business jet-maker Bombardier
 BBDb.TO  rose 3.6% after brokerage RBC assumed coverage with an
"outperform" rating.

 (Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Ravi
Prakash Kumar)
 ((Purvi.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com))