The S&P 500 Index see-sawed throughout Thursday morning, giving up early gains as investors sell advances, only to bounce back. Real estate and utilities led gainers, while slumping retailers helped pull consumer discretionary stocks lower. Banks also flagged. The dollar edged higher as U.S. jobless claims came in below estimates. Treasuries retreated.
The Canadian dollar has remained stable even with China now detained a second citizen of Canada for questioning, further heightening tensions between the two countries, and Trump administration officials on Wednesday signaled that Beijing will have to do more to end the tariff war. Canada-China relations are being tested after China’s spy agency detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, on leave from the foreign service, Monday in Beijing. The move came nine days after Canada arrested Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou as part of an extradition effort by U.S. authorities.