Nasdaq and TSX climb, Airbnb opens

After a sluggish start, markets on Thursday (aka Airbnb IPO day) inched up as American investors held out hope that Washington will reach a stimulus deal. As of the market close, the prospects were very mixed, though the stakes are high as 12 million Americans could lose their unemployment benefits without this aid. Tech stocks led again as the Nasdaq rose 0.54%, but the Dow closed -0.23% and the S&P -0.13%. Of course, the major focus on Wall Street was the IPO of Airbnb, the most-hyped debut all year. Initially priced at $68, ABNB closed 112.8% higher at $144.71. An astonishing 69.72 million shares were snapped up.

Meanwhile, the most active stock on the S&P was Apple, trading 20.44 million shares as it rose 1.2%. C3.ai, another IPO that debuted on Wednesday, soared another 40.5% Thursday. The skyrocketing prices have some questioning if these stocks are vastly overpriced. Otherwise, healthcare, consumer and industrials lagged the Dow while energy surged. The price of WTI and WCS both jumped 3%.

In Canada, the TSX was mixed for most of Thursday, but closed up 0.19%, propelled by that oil bounce. Vermilion popped 8.54% while Whitecap Resources, MEG and Shawcor each nearly spiked 7%. Altagas updated its guidance and increased its dividend, which pushed the stock up 3.75%. Another notable gainer was Spin Master, popping 5%. In contrast, Canada Goose dove 3.73% after an analyst downgraded it to a sell.

🏠 Airbnb +112.8%
🍎 Apple +1.2%
💿 C3.AI INC +40.5%
🛢 Vermilion Energy Inc +8.54%
🛢 Whitecap Resources +7%
🛢 MEG Energy Corp +7%
🛢 Shawcor Ltd. (A) +7%
🛢 Altagas Ltd +3.75%
🧸 Spin Master Corp +5%
🧣 Canada Goose -3.73%