Daily Wrap-up: Clean sweep as all TSX sectors gain

Clean sweep as all TSX sectors gain
The main TSX index closed higher Thursday as all 10 main sector groups gained, led by healthcare, utilities and energy.

Wall Street also closed higher but lost some ground following comments from President Trump, repeating his willingness to deal with North Korea if China doesn’t intervene, and calling for the replacement of Syrian president Bashar Assad. European markets closed mostly higher while Asian indexes were lower.

There were further gains for commodities with oil, gold and natural gas all showing increases.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 54.19 (0.35 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed up 18.80 (0.07 per cent)
Oil is trending higher (Brent $54.82, WTI $51.67 at 4.50pm)
Gold is trending higher (1253.80 at 4.50pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7452

Companies may be allowed to report less often
The Canadian Securities Administrators has launched a consultation paper with proposals to cut the burden of regulations for Canadian companies. There could be a cut from the current requirement to report quarterly financial results with firms reporting twice a year instead.

“Regulatory requirements and the associated compliance costs should be proportionate to the regulatory objectives sought,” said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers. “The purpose of this consultation is to identify potential ways to reduce regulatory burden in the public markets without compromising investor protection or the efficiency of the capital markets.”

Prospectus and offer processes are another of the areas which could see potential changes. Comments are invited by July 7, 2017.

NAFTA talks are “dragging on” says Canadian ambassador
The start of talks between Canada, the US and Mexico to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement is “dragging on” and there is no clue as to when they may begin.

Reuters says that Canada’s ambassador to the US David McNaughton said Thursday that he keeps hearing of the imminent start of the 90-day notice that President Trump must give Congress before formal talks can begin.

However, he told reporters that he has “no idea when it will happen.”