TSX Flirts with All-Time High

Canada's main stock index rose more than 1% to trade near a record high on Thursday, lifted by mining and technology shares, as investors cheered earnings from some of the big tech megacaps on Wall Street.The TSX index popped 340.31 points, or 1.3%, to move into Thursday afternoon at 25,813.61, its highest level since Dec. 9.The Canadian dollar subsided 0.07 cents at 69.38 cents U.S. Methanol supplier Methanex beat fourth-quarter profit estimates on Wednesday. Methanol shares climbed $4.40, or 6.1%, to $76.29. Elsewhere, shares of Celestica jumped $21.94, or 15.1%, to $166.93, after the electronics firm surpassed analysts' fourth-quarter profit expectations.Rogers Communication shares gained 36 cents to $41.82, although the cable giant added fewer-than-expected wireless subscriptions in the fourth quarter.Uncertainty over the Trump administration's policies was also on investors' mind. Trump has set a Saturday deadline for imposing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, two of the largest U.S. trading partners.On the macroeconomic front, Statistics Canada released payroll numbers for November. The number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—decreased by 56,100 (-0.3%) in November, following three consecutive months of little change. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up 142,900 (+0.8%) in November.ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 10.34 points, or 1.7%, to 623.93.All 12 TSX subgroups were stronger, led by gold, better by 4.1%, information technology, improving 3.8%, and materials, jumping 3.4%. ON WALLSTREET Stocks rose on Thursday as Wall Street digested recent quarterly results from a slew of megacap tech companies. Investors are coming off a losing session after the Federal Reserve held steady on rates.The Dow Jones Industrials prospered 92.18 points to 44,805.70The much-broader index gained 9.26 points to 6,048.57. The NASDAQ Composite faded into the red 35.13 points to 19,597.20. Shares of Meta Platforms and Tesla both added 2%, while Microsoft shares dipped 6% after the companies reported earnings. Meta beat on top and bottom lines, but Microsoft shares faltered after the company’s quarterly revenue forecast disappointed. Tesla shrugged off an earnings and revenue miss.Investors were also a bit cautious to buy after fourth-quarter GDP growth came in at just 2.3%, missing expectations.Other “Magnificent Seven” names are set to report in the coming days, with Apple’s results being due for a Thursday release. Amazon will soon follow suit, as the megacap tech company reports next week.Prices for the 10-year Treasury vaulted, lowering yields to 4.52% from Wednesday’s 4.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.Oil prices gained 20 cents to $72.82 U.S. a barrel. Prices for gold brightened $45.70 an ounce to $2,839.20 U.S.