Glacier FarmMedia — The Canadian dollar held relatively steady on Thursday.
The Canadian dollar settled at US$0.7167 or US$1=C$1.3952, which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.7169 or US$1=C$1.3949.
TD Bank, BMO Financial Group and CIBC all reported solid fourth quarter profits, which investors took as a sign of a healthy economy.
Canadian economic activity contracted in November for the first time in six months, according to the latest Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data. The seasonally adjusted index fell to 48.4 from 52.4 in October, marking the first move below 50 since May.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up by 1.37 per cent at US$59.76 per barrel.
The TSX Composite Index gained 317.03 points at 31,477.57 points.
