Daily Wrap-Up: Decline for TSX as oil prices slip ahead of OPEC

Decline for TSX as oil prices slip ahead of OPEC... Rogers profit up 35%... Employment insurance recipients down in May...

Daily Wrap-Up: Decline for TSX as oil prices slip ahead of OPEC
Steve Randall
Decline for TSX as oil prices slip ahead of OPEC
The rise in oil prices was halted Thursday ahead of a meeting of OPEC members. The near-1% decline meant a drop for the energy sector group of the main TSX index.

Five groups were lower including financials and materials while the 5 that closed higher were led by healthcare.

Wall Street closed flat with the Nasdaq ahead of the other two main indexes. European indexes closed lower following the ECB’s decision to hold interest rates; London outperformed the region to close higher. Asian indexes were largely positive.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 19.93 (0.13%)
The Dow Jones closed down 28.97 (0.13%)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $49.31, WTI $46.73 at 4.25pm)
Gold is trending higher (1243.40 at 4.25pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7943

Rogers profit up 35%
Second quarter profit at Rogers Communications jumped 35% to $531 million from revenue of $3.6 billion, a 4% rise from a year earlier.

The increased net income was driven by its wireless unit which saw improved customer churn, 93,000 new customers, and monthly post-paid revenue up to an average $124.31, more than $12 higher than a year earlier.

New CEO Joe Natale said the results can be improved by a focus on strong customer service but noted that that will take time.

Employment insurance recipients down in May
The number of regular recipients of Employment Insurance benefits fell to 525,300 in May, down 2.4% from April, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.

Alberta led decreases in 8 provinces with a 7.4% fall, with Newfoundland and Labrador seeing a 2.7% rise and Saskatchewan little changed.

Compared with May 2016, the number of EI recipients declined by 4.9%, largely the result of decreases in Quebec, Alberta and Ontario.

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