Dow Jones closes 115 pts higher
Dollar General Corp higher
TSX up 17 points
The Dow Jones snapped a three day losing streak, to close up over 115 points at 24,873.
But the S&P 500 was lower, shedding 2.15 points at 2,747.
The Nasdaq lost over 15 points at 7,481.
US crude - West Texas Intermediate - added 0.41% to stand at US$61.21 a barrel.
In Toronto, the TSX added around 17 points, at 15,670.
On Wall Street, top dog on S&P 500 was discount retailer Dollar General Corp (NYSE:DG), which gained 4.73% to stand at US$93.42.
Its comparable store sales beat Wall Street estimates as customers continue to spend more and the company gave a full-year profit forecast, which also topped expectations.
MID-SESSION
US stocks turned as corner at mid-session, with the Dow Jones flirting with the 25,000 level again - up over 204 points.
The S&P 500 was higher too, up 2.59 points at 2,752.
But the tech heavy Nasdaq was lower as it shed 5.15 points at 7,481.
The TSX in Toronto was higher, up over 42 points at 15,696, while the venture exchange was also up - 1.21 points at 828.49.
Magna (CSE:MG) was the biggest gainer on the index, up 6% to C$73.26 after the auto parts maker said on Wednesday it would invest C$200mln in Lyft and work with the US company to manufacture self-driving cars.
Lyft is partnering with global auto parts giant Magna to speed development of self-driving vehicles https://t.co/cVtDqt2ayc pic.twitter.com/s2kCdtfKbi
— Forbes (@Forbes) 14 March 2018
On Wall Street, Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN) have gained over 5% to US$ 129.05 after the company announced that its ALXN1210, a rare blood disorder drug being tested against Soliris, was successful in a late-stage study.
Dollar General (NYSE:DG) shares are up almost 4% to US$92.73 after the group's fourth quarter earnings cheered the market.
Fiona Cincotta, Senior Market Analyst at City Index, said: "Whilst data on Thursday was a mixed bag, investors didn’t dwell on the weaker than forecast Philadelphia Business outlook; instead choosing to focus on an upbeat reading on continuing jobless claims, and increasing import prices.
"These indicators point to the continued tightening of the labour market and increasing inflationary pressures, enough to keep the dollar content."
Alastair George, chief investment strategist at Edison Investment Research, had this to say on the outlook for US equities against company earnings for this year:
"Consensus forecasts for US equities call for earnings growth of 17% during 2018," he said.
"It is critical in our view that earnings forecasts remain stable in order for there to be a realistic prospect of a ‘soft landing’ for US equities.
"This is the scenario in which markets move sideways and valuations move closer to long-term averages as underlying profits grow (and interest rates are re-normalised).
"The relative weakness of the dollar has also been helpful in this regard and we would note that while survey data has eased from recent highs and economic surprise indices have softened somewhat, the recent pick-up in equity market volatility appears to have had no impact on US corporate fundamentals to date."
OPEN
US shares started mixed but mainly higher, with the Dow Jones up over 57 points at 24,815.
The broader based S&P 500 is up 1.84 points at 2,751.
But the tech heavy Nasdaq shed 1.72 points at 7,495.
In Toronto, the TSX added over 25 points to stand at 15,679.
It came as new US figures showed the rate of unemployment measured by initial jobless claims fell slightly in early March.
The figure declined by 4,000 to 226,000 in the seven days to March 10, while Economists had forecast claims to total 228,000.
Dennis de Jong at UFX.com said: "The US employment market has remained on a steady course of late, and with the latest figures showing a further fall in initial claimants, Donald Trump will surely use the opportunity to champion his job-boosting credentials as he embarks on the formative stages of a re-election campaign.
"A robust jobs market was a key pillar in his road to the White House and although there may be some who argue the success has come on the back of a healthier international economy, it’s hard to argue with the results."
But de Jong cautioned: "With talk of an imminent trade war with China spooking the markets, the President must now be careful in his next steps to balance American pride with a precarious jobs market that’s not out the woods yet.”
In other data, US import prices rose 0.4% in February from a downwardly revised 0.8% increase in January, the Labor Department revealed.
In stocks, a notable mover in early deals on Wall Street was Dollar General Corp (NYSE:DG), which saw shares surge 5% to US$93.68.
The firm reported a big jump in year-end profits thanks in part to the Trump tax cuts, plus a dividend increase and a favorable outlook for the current fiscal year.
The stock market has rallied in response to President Trump's intentions and actions and he shouldn't let Wall Street whining change his game plan. If there must be some pressure on stocks near term so be it- time to play to win long term.
— Charles V Payne (@cvpayne) 15 March 2018
PREVIEW
US stocks look set to open slightly higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 recovering after three days of declines on fears about an international trade war.
Dow futures increased 76 points to 24,864 and S&P futures rose 5.85 points to 2,759. Nasdaq futures gained 12 points to 7,070.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration will seek to trim the US trade deficit with China by US$100bn, a day after announcing the US will impose up to US$60bn in tariffs on Chinese goods.