Canadian equities closed higher on Thursday, driven by an unexpected drop in U.S. inflation, which fuelled optimism that the Federal Reserve might begin easing its monetary policy as early as September. Gains on the TSX were led by the utilities and industrial sectors.
In the United States, markets remained relatively stable, although the Nasdaq experienced a significant decline. The new data revealed that the inflation rate had fallen to its lowest level in more than three years in June, bolstering the argument for a potential rate cut by the Fed later this year.
| TSX | 22,544.13 | +193.20 |  |
| TSXV | 586.55 | +3.29 | |
| CSE | 169.91 | +7.35 | |
| DJIA | 39,753.75 | +32.39 | |
| NASDAQ | 18,283.41 | -364.04 |  |
| S&P 500 | 5,590.18 | -43.73 | |
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.34 cents U.S. compared with 73.42 cents U.S. on Wednesday.
U.S. crude futures traded $0.89 higher at $82.99 a barrel, and the Brent contract rose $0.63 to $85.71 a barrel.
The price of gold was up US$41.89 to US$2,414.75.
In world markets, the Nikkei was up 392.03 points to 42,224.02, the Hang Seng was up 360.66 points to 17,832.33, the FTSE was up 29.83 points to 8,223.34, and the DAX was up 127.34 points to 18,534.56.
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(Top image: AI generated stock picture.)