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World equity markets began November with a broad rally on Thursday after a brutal October, boosted by strong corporate earnings and signs that a trade war between economic giants, China and the United States, could be contained.

The MSCI All-Country World Index, which tracks stock markets in 47 countries, climbed about 1.1 per cent.

October was the index’s worst month since May 2012, as it lost 7.5 per cent when equity market took a beating from factors such as trade wars and concerns over world economic growth and higher U.S. interest rates.

Investor sentiment was bolstered by remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, who said he had a “very good” talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping on trade and North Korea, and that the two planned to meet at an upcoming G-20 summit.

“Over the past few days, we’ve seen the pressure valve taken off the selling which certainly helps from a sentiment perspective,” said Michael Antonelli, managing director, institutional sales trading at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee.

Canada’s main stock index rose on Thursday, boosted by gains in shares of metal miners fueled by a rally in gold prices.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 122.87 points, or 0.82 per cent, at 15,150.15.

The materials sector led the way, adding 4 per cent with the rise in gold. Barrick Gold Corp. increased 6.1 per cent, while Goldcorp Inc. and Kinross Gold Corp. both rose 5.9 per cent.

Norbord Inc. jumped 7.8 per cent after the wood-based panels maker reported a rise in quarterly sales.

Among the largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Hudbay Minerals Inc., which added 22.6 per cent after reporting quarterly results and announcing deal to buy Mason Resources Corp.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. gained 4.8 per cent after its quarterly profit more than doubled and beat analysts’ estimates helped by higher production and average realized prices.

Encana Corp. fell 12.3 per cent after the company said it would buy Newfield Exploration Co for $5.5-billion.

Maxar Technologies Ltd. dropped 3.3 per cent, after multiple brokerages lower their price target on stock after its results on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks rose for a third straight session on Thursday as President Donald Trump said trade talks with China were “moving along nicely,” reviving hopes that the two countries can resolve their trade dispute.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 265.05 points, or 1.06 per cent, to 25,380.81, the S&P 500 gained 28.6 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 2,740.34 and the Nasdaq Composite added 128.16 points, or 1.75 per cent, to 7,434.06.

Stocks fell sharply from early October through the last few days of the month, a skid that briefly wiped out their gains for the year. After a rally over the last two days, the S&P 500 is up 2.5 per cent in 2018.

During the sell-off, high-growth companies like technology and industrial companies and smaller stocks were hit especially hard as investors worried about various factors that could slow their growth and their profits. Those included the U.S.-China trade fight, rising interest rates that could make it more expensive to borrow money, and higher costs for fuel and other necessities.

Chemicals maker DowDuPont surged 8.1 per cent to $58.27 after its third-quarter profit surpassed analysts’ estimates. The company said sales grew in all regions, with strong gains in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. DowDuPont also said it expects to save more money from a cost-cutting program and plans to buy back another $3 billion in stock.

Fertilizer and chemicals maker CF Industries jumped 6.3 per cent to $51.05 after it said it expects better nitrogen fertilizer prices over the next few years.

Cigna, one of the largest U.S. health insurance companies, rose 21.2 per cent to $216.28 after raising its forecasts following a better-than-expected quarter.

Exporters rose as the dollar slumped. The ICE US Dollar Index slid 0.9 per cent after reaching a 16-month high on Wednesday. A weaker dollar helps companies that do a lot of business outside the U.S., as it makes their products more affordable in foreign markets and also increases their profits when they are translated back into dollars.

Boeing rose 2.3 per cent to $363.07 while farm equipment maker Deere added 3.8 per cent to $140.65. Among chipmakers, Nvidia gained 3.5 per cent to $218.11 and Broadcom jumped 2.9 per cent to $229.88. Advanced Micro devices leaped 11 per cent to $20.22.

The S&P 500 fell 6.9 per cent last month, and technology and industrial companies and retailers fared even worse. One exception was Apple, which slipped just 3 per cent in October. The world’s largest tech company is scheduled to report its results after the close of trading, and climbed 1.5 per cent to $222.22.

The decline in the dollar also sent metals prices sharply higher. Gold jumped 1.9 per cent to $1,238.60 an ounce. Silver soared 3.5 per cent to $14.78 an ounce. Copper gained 2.4 per cent to $2.72 a pound.

The pound rose sharply following reports that Britain and the European Union had reached a deal to give U.K. financial services companies access to the bloc after Brexit. The article by The Times cited anonymous sources, and other reports suggested a deal had not yet been finalized. The British pound rose to $1.3018 from $1.2771.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.41 per cent.

Sterling extended its rally on Thursday after the Bank of England kept interest rates on hold and hinted at a slightly quicker pace of future rate rises if Britain’s exit from the European Union goes smoothly.

Sterling’s advance nudged the U.S. dollar off its recent peak. The dollar index, tracking the greenback against six major currencies, fell 0.87 per cent, with the euro up 0.88 per cent to $1.1409.

The index had spiked to a 16-month high of 97.20 overnight on a U.S. ADP national employment report showing private sector payrolls increased by the most in eight months in October.

The dollar has enjoyed a boost from robust economic data, including last week’s gross domestic product growth numbers which showed the U.S. economy slowed less than expected in the third quarter.

“We’ve got a reasonably risk-friendly market, and with the new month we have some dollar selling,” said Kit Juckes, a strategist at Societe Generale.

Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 5/32 in price to yield 3.1398 percent, from 3.159 per cent late on Wednesday.

Oil fell nearly 3 per cent on Thursday, with U.S. crude futures hitting lows not seen since April, due to growing concerns that global demand is weakening at a time when output from the world’s major oil producers is surging.

Record production from the United States and post-Soviet Russia, along with a big move upward in output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has culminated in a move to the exits by speculators.

Oil has also been under pressure on growing concern over a possible slowdown in global growth as the U.S-China trade dispute remains unresolved, and is starting to hit emerging market economies in particular.

U.S. crude prices are 17 per cent below highs reached in early October. Analysts said they anticipate more selling in coming days, noting that oil was unable to capitalize on weakness in the dollar on Thursday, nor did it benefit from a rebound in equity markets.

“The sellers seem to be in charge,” said Gene McGillian, vice president of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

Brent crude futures settled down $2.15, or 2.9 per cent, at $72.89 a barrel, while U.S. crude lost $1.62, or 2.5 per cent, at $63.69, its lowest close since April 9.

The declines accelerated on Thursday after U.S. futures broke through $65, which had served as a buying level throughout the spring and summer. More than 750 million contracts changed hands, exceeding the 200-day moving average of 576 million contracts a day.

“As we drop down we see additional liquidation from speculators, and that keeps things heading south,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates.

Both benchmarks posted their biggest monthly percentage decline since July 2016 in October, with Brent down 8.8 per cent for the month and U.S. crude losing nearly 11 per cent.

Reuters and The Associated Press

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 3:57pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
HBM-T
Hudbay Minerals Inc
+1.07%9.48
ABX-T
Barrick Gold Corp
+2.46%22.53
CNQ-T
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.
+0.87%103.33
G-T
Augusta Gold Corp
+6.93%1.08
K-T
Kinross Gold Corp
+3.88%8.31

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