TSX Resumes Climb

Canada's main stock index extended gains on Thursday, aided by energy and consumer staples shares, while investors remained curious about U.S. President Donald Trump's policy moves.The TSX index raced ahead 81.56 points by noon hour EST to 25,393.06.The Canadian dollar stayed afloat 0.15 cents at 69.61 cents U.S. RBC downgraded the rating of AG Growth International to "sector perform" from "outperform". AG shares dished off nine cents to $40.97. Birchcliff Energy rose the most at 21 cents, or 3.6%, to $6.03 after brokerage TD Cowen upgraded its rating to 'buy'.Markets were watching for Trump's virtual address at the World Economic Forum in Davos at 11:00 a.m. ET, for further clarity on his policies.On the economic agenda, Statistics Canada says retail sales were relatively unchanged in November. Sales were down in six out of nine subsectors, led by lower sales at food and beverage retailers. Higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers and gasoline stations and fuel vendors (+0.7%) largely offset declines in the remaining subsectors.ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange backtracked 1.05 points to 617. All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher by midday, with industrials surging 1.3%, consumer staples ahead 1.2%, and consumer discretionary stocks better by 1%. The three laggards were gold, settling 1.4%, while materials were down 0.8%, and information technology docked 0.1%. ON WALLSTREET The S&P 500 traded around flat Thursday as Wall Street wondered if record highs were once again in the cards.The Dow Jones Industrials popped 256.23 points by lunch time Thursday at 44,409.48. The much-broader index inched up 8.16 points to 6,094,53. The NASDAQ Composite dropped 38.35 points to 19,970.99. as Nvidia and Amazon pulled back.This action comes a day after the S&P 500 set an intraday record and finished Wednesday’s session just below its record closing high. The Dow was also within striking distance of new highs on Thursday.The fourth-quarter earnings season is also off to a strong start, with Netflix and big banks offering positive reports. But American Airlines poured some water on that enthusiasm, with the stock tumbling more than 6% on Thursday after issuing weak guidance.Prices for the 10-year Treasury slipped, raising yields to 4.65% from Wednesday’s 4.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.Oil prices moved backward 88 cents to $74.56 U.S. a barrel. Prices for gold declined $7.40 an ounce to $2,763.50 U.S.