Trump tax reforms fuel U.S. advances

TORONTO — Major New York stock indices surpassed record highs Thursday, while the Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index failed to muster up the 40 points more it needed to do the same.

The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 118.06 points to 20,172.40, and the S&P 500 added 13.20 points to 2,307.87. The Nasdaq composite meanwhile reached its third consecutive record-breaking day, rising 32.73 points to 5,715.18.

The indices jumped on comments from U.S. President Donald Trump about his long-promised tax reforms, said Kathryn Del Greco, vice president and investment adviser with TD Wealth.

Trump reportedly said he’ll reveal a “phenomenal” tax announcement in the next two to three weeks. He made the remarks while meeting with airline and airport executives. “That’s put a really positive tone into particularly the U.S. market, which had been waiting patiently for news on the tax reform,” said Del Greco.

A secondary boost came from a U.S. Labor Department report released Thursday that showed fewer Americans are seeking unemployment benefits — a sign the U.S. economy is recovering, she said.

The growth south of the border helped push the S&P/TSX composite index higher.

Still, it fell short of its previous all-time high of 15,657.63 points set in September 2014 after reaching an intraday high earlier Thursday of 15,635.82 points.

The TSX gained 63.26 points to 15,617.30, with the energy sector driving its growth.

Energy stocks gained more than two per cent in worth on average, with strong earnings from Canada’s largest oil and gas company by market capitalization and a rise in the price of oil.

Suncor Energy released its fourth quarter results for its 2016 financial year Thursday and outperformed analyst expectations. The company said its net earnings were $531 million or 32 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $2 billion or $1.38 cents per share in the same three months of 2015.

Meanwhile, the March crude contract rose 66 cents to US$53.00 per barrel. The price of oil moved higher after the U.S. Energy Information Administration released its weekly natural gas storage report, showing that America’s natural gas inventories on Feb. 3 were down 152 billions of cubic feet compared to a week prior.

While that wasn’t enough to lift the TSX to a record high, it’s likely the index will make that leap soon as well, said Del Greco. “We are within, you know, a hair’s breadth of a high.”

The commodity-sensitive loonie edged up 0.08 of a U.S. cent to 76.10 cents US.

Elsewhere in commodities, April gold fell $2.70 to US$1,236.80 an ounce, March natural gas advanced 1.5 cents to US$3.14 per mmBTU, and March copper shed 1.3 cents to US$2.65 a pound.