4:46 p.m. ET - North American markets slide in waning hours of Thursday’s trade

North American equity markets closed Thursday’s trading day lower, sliding into negative territory in the final hour. The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed the session down 0.06 per cent, the S&P 500 fell 0.21 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.58 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.46 of its value.

The major North American indices had been trading higher earlier in the day, but began losing ground after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he’d hold a press conference Friday regarding China. Though the details of what he will announce remain unknown, the act of announcing such a press conference stoked concerns of further tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

In Toronto, seven of the 11 TSX subgroups finished higher, led by consumer staples, materials and utilities. Financials were the biggest drag on the overall market, taking more than 60 points off the table by themselves.

Toronto-Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal were the largest drags on both the financials and the overall market.

Oil prices rose, with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate up two per cent to trade at US$33.50 per barrel and Alberta’s Western Canadian Select rising 3.90 per cent to US$26.09 per barrel.

The Canadian dollar lost a tenth of a cent against its American counterpart to trade at 72,61 cents U.S.

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12:50 p.m. ET - North American equity markets near session highs through midday           

North American equity markets were trading near their session highs through midday Thursday, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index up 0.2 per cent, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both up 0.7 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index gaining one per cent.

In Toronto, nine of the 11 TSX subgroups were in positive territory, led by the health care, information technology and materials sectors. Only financials and real estate traded lower.

Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce were among the laggards on that financials index after both banks capped earnings season by setting aside exponentially more cash to cover potentially sour loans.

Oil rebounded after some earlier weakness, with West Texas Intermediate up 2.7 per cent to trade at US$33.70 per barrel and Alberta’s Western Canadian Select gaining 3.39 per cent to trade at US$25.96 per barrel.

The Canadian dollar was flat against its U.S. counterpart to trade at 72.72 cents U.S.

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9:55 a.m. ET - North American equity markets off to muted start

North American equity markets had a muted start to Thursday’s trade, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index rising 0.3 per cent, the S&P 500 up 0.2 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite Index essentially unchanged.

In Toronto, six of the 11 TSX subgroups were in positive territory, led by materials, consumer staples and energy. Financials were modestly lower after Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce wrapped up another round of bank earnings, both putting aside significantly more cash for potentially sour loans.

Crude oil prices dipped modestly, with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate falling a third of a per cent to trade at US$32.70 per barrel. Alberta’s Western Canadian Select was essentially unchanged at US$25.05 per barrel.

The Canadian dollar slipped about a tenth of a cent against its American counterpart to trade at 72.57 cents U.S.