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After moving sharply higher over the two previous sessions, stocks showed another strong move to the upside during trading on Thursday. With the continued advance, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the charge, surging by 285.99 points or 1.5 percent to 19,269.46, while the S&P 500 climbed 44.06 points or 0.7 percent to 5,973.10.

The narrower Dow, on the other hand, spent the day lingering near the unchanged line before closing down just 0.59 points at 43,729.34.

The continued strength on Wall Street partly reflected ongoing optimism about the impact of former President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Trump’s policies are expected to be positive for corporations and the U.S. economy, although there are some concerns about the effect planned tariff increases will have on inflation.

The markets also benefited from Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris being decisive, avoiding the uncertainty that would be created by a prolonged vote counting process and potential legal challenges.

Stocks saw continued strength as the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter point.

After aggressively slashing interest rates by half a percentage point in September, the Fed said it has decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.50 to 4.75 percent.

The central bank said its decision to continue lowering rates comes as labor market conditions have generally eased, while inflation continues to make progress towards its 2 percent objective.

However, the Fed said the risks to achieving its dual goals of maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run are roughly in balance.

“The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate,” the Fed said.

In considering future adjustments to rates, the central bank said it will continue to carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed during his post-meeting press conference that rates are not on “any preset course” and said the central bank will make future decisions “meeting by meeting.”

Powell also said the Fed is “well positioned” to deal with the risks to both sides of its dual mandate, noting the it can cut rates more slowly or more quickly depending on the economic developments.

Sector News

Semiconductor stocks extended the surge seen over the two previous sessions, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 2.3 percent.

Considerable strength was also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 jump by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.

Gold stocks also saw significant strength amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, moving notably higher along with retail and commercial real estate stocks.

On the other hand, banking stocks pulled back sharply after Wednesday’s spike, dragging the KBW Bank Index down by 2.7 percent. Telecom, oil service and brokerage stocks also gave back ground.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Thursday. While Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.3 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shot up by 2.0 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index spiked by 2.6 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks moved mostly higher on the day. The German DAX Index surged by 1.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, although the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index bucked the uptrend and declined by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries saw a notable rebound following the sell-off seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slid 8.5 basis points to 4.341 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Friday may be impacted by reaction to the University of Michigan’s preliminary report on consumer sentiment in the month of November, which includes readings on consumers’ inflation expectations.

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest rebound by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 2nd.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims crept up to 221,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 218,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 221,000 from the 216,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The uptick came a week after jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average fell to 227,250, a decrease of 9,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 237,000.

“Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits remain low as the biggest issue for the job market isn’t firing but weaker hiring,” said Ryan Sweet, Chief US Economist at Oxford Economics. “For the first time in three weeks, initial claims remained below our estimate of the break-even level, or that consistent with no monthly job growth.”

He added, “Initial claims don’t alter our assessment of the balance of risks to the labor market, which remain tilted toward weaker hiring than a sudden rise in layoffs.”

The Labor Department also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing employment assistance, climbed by 39,000 to 1.892 million, reaching the highest level since November 2021.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also reached a nearly three-year high, rising by 8,500 to 1,875,500.

“Continuing claims have been edging higher, consistent with other signs that hiring has slowed,” said Sweet. “Continuing claims might still be feeling the lingering effects of Hurricane Milton.”

Last Friday, the Labor Department released a report showing employment in the U.S. edged only slightly higher in the month of October.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment crept up by 12,000 jobs in October compared to economist estimates for the addition of 113,000 jobs.

The report also showed a modest downward revision to job growth in September as well as a more significant downward revision to job growth in August.

Employment in September shot up by 223,000 jobs compared to the previously reported surge of 254,000 jobs, while employment in August rose by 78,000 jobs compared to the previously reported jump of 159,000 jobs.

With the downward revisions, employment in August and September increased by 112,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.

Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate came in at 4.1 percent in October, unchanged from September and in line with economist estimates.

After aggressively slashing interest rates by half a percentage point in September, the Federal Reserve on Thursday announced its widely expected decision to lower rates by another quarter point.

The Fed said it has decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.50 to 4.75 percent.

The central bank said its decision to continue lowering rates comes as labor market conditions have generally eased, while inflation continues to make progress towards its 2 percent objective.

However, the Fed said the risks to achieving its dual goals of maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run are roughly in balance.

“The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate,” the Fed said.

In considering future adjustments to rates, the central bank said it will continue to carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed during his post-meeting press conference that rates are not on “any preset course” and said the central bank will make future decisions “meeting by meeting.”

Powell also said the Fed is “well positioned” to deal with the risks to both sides of its dual mandate, noting rates can be cut more slowly or more quickly depending on the economic developments.

Meanwhile, the Fed chief said Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election will have no effect on policy decisions in the near term but acknowledged the administration’s policies could have economic effects over time that would need to be taken into account.

The Fed’s next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for December 17-18, with CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 70.0 percent chance of another quarter point rate cut but a 29.0 percent chance rates will be left unchanged.

 Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (AQN) on Thursday reported a loss of $1.31 billion in its third quarter.

On a per-share basis, the Oakville, Ontario-based company said it had a loss of $1.71. Earnings, adjusted to account for discontinued operations and non-recurring costs, were 8 cents per share.

The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 9 cents per share.

The utility operator posted revenue of $573.2 million in the period.

The company’s shares closed at $4.80. A year ago, they were trading at $5.68.

Hydro One Limited (TSX:H.TO), announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend to common shareholders of $0.3142 per share to be paid on December 31, 2024 to shareholders of record on December 11, 2024.

Read more at newswire.ca

BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

TC Energy Corporation (TRP) on Thursday reported third-quarter net income of $1.09 billion.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company said it had profit of $1.03 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to 76 cents per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 70 cents per share.

The energy infrastructure company posted revenue of $2.99 billion in the period.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on TRP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/TRP

Cameco Corp. increased its annual dividend as it reported a third-quarter profit attributable to equity holders of $7 million, down from $148 million a year ago.

The uranium miner says it will now pay an annual dividend of 16 cents per share, up from 12 cents per share.

Cameco chief executive Tim Gitzel also said the company has recommended to its board that it continue to grow the dividend to at least 24 cents per share over the fiscal periods 2024 through 2026, subject to annual consideration.

The increased payment to shareholders came as Cameo said its third-quarter profit amounted to two cents per diluted share compared with a profit of 34 cents per diluted share a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $721 million, up from $575 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Cameco says it lost a penny per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 32 cents per share a year earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. raised its dividend as it reported a profit in its latest quarter compared with a loss a year ago when it took a large one-time charge.

The retailer says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.775 per share, up from $1.75 per share.

The increased payment to shareholders came as Canadian Tire reported net income attributable to shareholders of $200.6 million, or $3.59 per diluted share. The result compared with a loss attributable to shareholders of $66.4 million or $1.19 per diluted share in the same quarter last year when it recorded a charge related to its deal to buy back the 20 per cent stake in Canadian Tire Financial Services that was owned by Scotiabank.

On a normalized basis, Canadian Tire says it earned $3.59 per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with a normalized profit of $2.96 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $4.19 billion, down from $4.25 billion in the same quarter last year.

Consolidated comparable sales were down 1.5 per cent compared with a year earlier. Comparable sales at its Canadian Tire stores fell 2.2 per cent, while SportChek comparable sales rose 2.9 per cent. Mark’s comparable sales dropped 2.3 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.