More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
A positive economic and employment outlook by the U.S. Federal Reserve propelled North American stock markets higher for a third straight day and pared losses in the choppy month of September.
Stock markets generally do well when the economy is doing well, said Mike Archibald, vice-president and portfolio manager with AGF Investments Inc., even though they were also supported by financial engineering to address the impact of COVID-19
The U.S. central bank supported positive vibes by giving "a fairly bullish outlook" for the economy, hinted that bond purchases will begin to be tapered in November and said rate hikes will begin the end of 2022 and proceed in several stages through 2024.
"The Fed's giving you confidence that they believe the economic backdrop is better than perhaps people thought a few days ago or what they thought at their last couple of meetings," he said in an interview.
Despite the eventual reduction in stimulus, monetary policy will remain accommodative with rates remaining very low, Archibald said.
"That's giving confidence to equity investors to keep money coming into into stocks."
In addition, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed an investor worry by saying Thursday that agreement has been reached on a stopgap funding bill that will avert a government shutdown.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 60.44 points to 20,461.93. It's down 0.6 per cent in September and up 17.4 per cent so far in 2021.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 506.50 points at 34,764.82. The S&P 500 index was up 53.34 points at 4,448.98, while the Nasdaq composite was up 155.39 points at 15,052.24.
The cyclical sectors of the market performed best with energy, financials and consumer discretionary all rising on the TSX.
Energy increased 2.8 per cent on a climb in energy prices in response to the positive economic outlook with crude oil prices rising to their highest level since the end of July.
The November crude contract was up US$1.07 at US$73.30 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up 18.8 cents at US$5.04 per mmBTU.
Arc Resources Ltd. increased 5.4 per cent. followed by Vermilion Energy Inc. and Cenovus Energy Inc.
Tourmaline Oil Corp. shares gained 4.3 per cent after the company announced late Wednesday that it was raising its dividend, paying a special dividend and upgrading its outlook.
The Canadian dollar traded for 79.03 cents US compared with 78.39 cents US on Wednesday.
The heavyweight financials sector rose one per cent with the country's banks increasing as much as 1.6 per cent on the day.
Technology was moved higher by a 10.1 per cent increase in BlackBerry Ltd. in response to its latest quarterly results. And industrials was up slightly even as shares of SNC-Lavalin Inc. dropped 2.3 per cent after the RCMP laid bribery charges against two former executives, the company and a subsidiary.
Utilities and materials were the biggest laggards. Materials lost 1.5 per cent on lower metals prices.
The December gold contract was down US$29.00 at US$1,749.80 an ounce and the December copper contract was down 2.1 cents at US$4.23 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2021.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”