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In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 229.71 points at 44,484.49. The S&P 500 index was up 33.66 points at 6,297.36, while the Nasdaq composite was up 153.78 points at 20,884.27. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5 per cent to top its all-time high set a week ago. The Nasdaq composite added 0.7 per cent to its own record set the day before.

John Zechner, chairman and founder of J. Zechner Associates, said there were a few positive developments for the markets. He pointed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks Wednesday, which jolted financial markets by saying he had discussed the “conceptâ€� of firing the chair of the Federal Reserve but was unlikely to do so. For now, Zechner said markets saw some relief on that issue. 

“On top of that, earnings reports this week have been relatively good. This is the start of the earnings season. The banks beat the numbers and then Pepsi came out this morning with some pretty good numbers ... so earnings not a disappointment,” he said. 

PepsiCo jumped 7.5 per cent after delivering revenue and profit that topped Wall Street’s expectations. United Airlines flew 3.1 per cent higher after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Zechner also pointed to better-than-expected U.S. retail sales that rose 0.6 per cent in June. Overall, he said a few factors have come together to act as a tailwind. 

“You’re back to the same names leading. It’s back to a risk-on the way it’s been ever since those April lows,” Zechner said. 

On the TSX, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. shares finished eight per cent higher on Thursday after the company announced a decision to step away from its plans to buy the Japanese parent company of 7-Eleven. Zechner said money that was going to be used for the acquisition of Seven & i can now be put to use in other ways. 

“They won’t get the benefit of this acquisition if it had happened, but now suddenly there’s a lot more money there for buybacks, they’ll focus somewhere else to grow by acquisition. I think it’s more of a sense of relief. It was too big. People were concerned,” he said. 

Despite the positive signs equity markets are currently seeing, Zechner said he thinks investors could be paying more attention to downside risks regarding U.S. tariffs. 

“My sense personally is that investors are too optimistic, thinking they’ll back off once again. I think Trump needs tariffs, he likes them and he wants to get some form of them,” he said. 

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 72.93 cents US on Wednesday. 

The September crude oil contract was up US$1.04 at US$66.23 per barrel. The August gold contract was down US$13.80 at US$3,345.3 an ounce.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025.

— With files from The Associated Press.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)