Markets advance despite low volumes

Bay and Wall streets saw a second-straight day of modest gains despite low volumes ahead of the long weekend. The TSX closed on strength after adding 0.69% and returning to nearly to 22,000. All but telcos rallied, led by staples, real estate and energy.

Top movers were BlackBerry which soared 10.53%, Baytex 2.38%, CargoJet 5.61%, and Kinross Gold 5.47%. Gold climbed US$28 to US$2,326 while WTI crude gained 90 cents to US$81.80.

The S&P was choppy Thursday but still added five points while the Nasdaq gained 43 and the Dow 36. Here too volumes were lower than the norm. Major movers: Super Micro Computer leapt 7.12%, Palo Alto 4.78%, Walgreen -22.16% and Micron -7.12%. The U.S. 10-year returned below 4.3% as Bitcoin gained 1% to US$61,400.

📱 BlackBerry (BB-T) +10.53%

🛢 Baytex Energy Corp (BTE-T) +2.38%

🛫 Cargojet Inc (CJT-T) +5.61%

🥇 Kinross Gold (K-T) +5.47%

💾 Super Micro Computer (SMCI-Q) +7.12%

💾 Palo Alto Networks (PANW-N) +4.78%

💊 Walgreen Boots Alliance (WBA-Q) -22.16%

💾 Micron Technology (MU-Q) -7.12%

🅱 Bitcoin (BTCUSD) (CRYPTO:BTC) +1%