After a recent record run, Canadian equities closed lower on Thursday, with strength in the energy and telecom sectors helping limit broader market weakness. Investors weighed the possibility of a US-Iran peace deal alongside a fresh batch of earnings reports. Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) topped second-quarter profit estimates on stronger production levels, while AtkinsRéalis (TSX:ATRL) and Québecor (TSX:QBR) posted revenue growth. Restaurant Brands (TSX:QSR) delivered better-than-expected same-store sales growth, supported by resilient demand at Burger King in the US. Shopify (TSX:SHOP) also gained attention after forecasting stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue, prompting at least six brokerages to increase their price targets.
South of the border, Wall Street watched developments surrounding a potential agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while assessing corporate earnings. Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) shares fell after underwhelming quarterly results, AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) slid on a mixed earnings report, and Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) retreated after issuing a weaker-than-expected first-quarter forecast.
| TSX | 36,136.31/td> | -10.11 |  |
| TSXV | 926.78 | +2.95 |  |
| CSE | 157.77 | +1.44 | |
| DJIA | 53,885.10 | -464.02 | |
| NASDAQ | 26,348.35 | -15.09 | |
| S&P 500 | 7,709.96 | -13.59 | |
The Canadian dollar traded for 71.34 cents US compared to 71.36 cents US on Wednesday.
US crude futures traded US$3.06 higher at US$78.28 a barrel, and the Brent contract rose US$4.00 to US$83.45 a barrel.
The price of gold was down $6.06 to US$4,238.24.
In world markets, the Nikkei was down 617.18 points to ¥65,683.26, the Hang Seng was down 385.54 points to HK$25,530.28, the FTSE was down 20.41 points to ₤10,867.89, and the DAX was up 13.83 points to €25,140.13.