Stocks ended the day in the green Tuesday, as financials led the way with discretionary and tech issues pitching in.
The S&P/TSX Composite remained positive 41.86 points to close Tuesday at 15,498.80
The Canadian dollar lost 0.49 cents at 75.93 cents U.S.
In the financial sector, Power Financial Corp. leaped $1.26, or 3.8%, to $34.70, while Scotiabank climbed 83 cents, or 1.1%, to $79.06.
In the tech field, BlackBerry jumped 23 cents, or 2.5%, to $9.41, while Constellation Software gained $2.43 to $590.00
Energy stocks flailed away, however, as TransCanada Corporation lost 42 cents to $61.43. EnCana Corporation stumbled 48 cents, or 3%, to $15.60.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that municipalities issued $7.2 billion worth of building permits in December, down 6.6% from November.
Lower construction intentions were recorded for all components, led by commercial buildings and multi-family dwellings.
The agency also revealed that Canada's merchandise trade balance with the rest of the world recorded its second consecutive monthly surplus, narrowing from a revised $1.0 billion in November to $923 million in December. Exports were up 0.8% while imports increased 1.0%.
Western University’s IVEY School of Business hit 57.2 in January, down from the 60.8 figure in December, and 66 in January 2016. The survey asks purchasing managers whether their orders increased, decreased or stayed stable during the month, and any reading over 50 indicates expansion, while under 50 shows contraction.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stayed afloat 0.65 points to 827.02
All but two of the 12 subgroups moved higher, as consumer discretionary, financial and information technology each gained 0.6%.
The two laggards were energy, down 0.9%, and gold, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed mixed on Tuesday as energy capped gains, while investors focused on a slew of corporate earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained buoyant 34.45 points to 20,086.87, toward a new record, with Boeing leading advancer and Chevron the top decliner.
The S&P 500 eked up 0.52 points to 2,293.08, with energy falling more than 1% to lead decliners.
The NASDAQ added 10.66 points to 5,674.22, also a new high.
General Motors, Archer Daniels Midland and Michael Kors were among the companies that reported before the bell. Disney, Gilead Sciences, Mondelez, Pioneer Natural Resources and Zillow are among many other companies due to report after the market close.
Calendar fourth-quarter earnings have mostly surprised analysts, with more than 65% of firms reporting better-than-expected earning
In economic news, the U.S. trade deficit last year reached its highest level since 2012. For the whole year, the Commerce department said the deficit rose 0.4% to $502.3 billion.
Other data released include the job openings and labour turnover survey (JOLTS), which showed job openings in the U.S. totaled 5.501 million at the end of December.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained strength, lowering yields to 2.4% from Monday’s 2.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 81 cents to $52.20 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $3.30 to $1,235.40 U.S. an ounce.
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