Stocks Edge up on Tech Boost

Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday, led by technology shares, as cautious investors assessed a spate of corporate earnings and looked for potential trade deals ahead of the August 1 tariff deadline. The TSX Composite Index moved up but 29.45 points to begin Thursday at 27,399.41. The Canadian dollar shed 0.05 cents at 72.27 cents U.S. On the economic slate, real gross domestic product (GDP) edged down 0.1% in May for the second consecutive month, as goods-producing industries declined while services-producing industries were essentially unchanged. Elsewhere, payroll employment numbers increased by 15,300 (+0.1%) in May, after edging up 14,600 (+0.1%) in April. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up 43,300 (+0.2%) in May. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange forged ahead 1.73 points to 771.86. Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower early Thursday, weighed most by health-care, sliding 3%, telecoms, doffing 0.7%, and utilities off 0.5%. The four gainers were led by information technology, zooming 1%, materials, better by 0.5%, and gold, positive 0.3%. ON WALLSTREET Stocks rose to fresh highs on Thursday following solid earnings reports from tech giants Microsoft and Meta Platforms. Traders also looked ahead to a key trade deadline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered from Wednesday’s losses, picking up 73.32 points to 44,534.60. The S&P 500 index grabbed 45.27 points to 6,408.17. The NASDAQ popped 233.97 points to 21,3 63 .65. The S&P 500 has gained more than 3% so far in July, while the NASDAQ Composite is up about 5%. The 30-stock Dow has climbed 1%. “Magnificent Seven” titans Microsoft increased 6% and Meta rose 11.5% on the back of better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Software giant Microsoft said that annual revenue from its cloud computing service Azure exceeded $75 billion. Meta issued an upbeat third-quarter sales outlook, surpassing the Street’s estimates. Microsoft’s strong earnings print propelled the company to a $4-trillion market capitalization. Fellow Mag-7 names Apple and Amazon are slated to report earnings after the bell Thursday. Adding to the bullish sentiment, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday said negotiations with China are at a point where both sides ” have the makings of a deal.” Bessent did not give any details on a potential deal, however, nor did he indicate when such an agreement could be made. The U.S. and China have until Aug. 12 before the truce over aggressive tariffs runs out. His comments come ahead of a key Aug. 1 trade deadline. Wall Street is coming off a mixed session. The Dow and S&P 500 closed lower Wednesday, while the NASDAQ eked out a small gain, after the Federal Reserve left its benchmark overnight policy rate steady at its July meeting, not all members agreed with the decision. Prices for the 10-year treasury gained slightly, weighing yields to 4.35% from Wednesday’s 4.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices withdrew 16 cents to $69.84 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices faded $3.70 at $3,349.10 U.S. an ounce.