Equities in Canada’s largest centre found their feet by the closing bell on Tuesday, as gains in resource stocks led the market out of its funk.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 43.86 points to end Tuesday at 15,149.14
The Canadian dollar faded 0.21 cents to 77.37 cents U.S.
The materials sector found wings, as Hudbay Minerals gained 63 cents, or 8.2%, to $8.29, while with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan up 13 cents at $22.26.
In the oil patch, Suncor Energy rose 66 cents, or 1.8%, to $37.19, while Cenovus Energy gained 15 cents, or 1.7%, to $9.23.
Barrick Gold recaptured 19 cents to $20.56 and Agnico Eagle Mines was up 61 cents, or 1.1%, at $57.93.
Health-care stalled things somewhat, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals docked seven cents to $21.42
Utilities took some knocks, as Fortis Inc. lost 18 cents to $44.53
Telecoms also fell as BCE docked 12 cents to $57.85, and TELUS Corporation fell 12 cents to $44.53.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says the annual pace of housing starts in Canada picked up in June. The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of housing starts in June came in at 212,695 units, up from 194,955 units in May. Economists had expected the annual rate to come in at 200,000.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 2.64 points to 749.90.
Six of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground, as materials prospered 1.2%, energy was better by 1.1%, and gold shone brighter by 0.9%.
The five laggards were anchored mostly by health-care, sliding 1%, utilities, down 0.5%, and telecoms, off 0.2%. Financials were unchanged on the day.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks went on a wild ride Tuesday as traders debated the impact of emails released by Donald Trump Jr.
The Dow Jones Industrials eked into positive territory 0.55 points to 21,409.07, having fallen heavily during the day, on concerns the Russia controversy that's plagued President Donald Trump's presidency will worsen.
Boeing contributed the most to gains in the Dow, while 3M was among those with the greatest negative impact.
The S&P 500 faded 1.9 points to 2,425.53
The NASDAQ shifted gears and moved higher 16.91 points to 6,193.31
The email chain that led to the controversial meeting with a Russian lawyer offered "high level and sensitive information" that would incriminate Hillary Clinton as part of the Russian government's support for his father's presidential campaign.
Overall, S&P 500 second-quarter earnings are expected to rise 6.2% year over year, according to S&P Capital IQ. But experts say the key for investors will be the companies' guidance.
In corporate news, Amazon.com held its annual Prime day, which features big deals for Amazon's Prime customers.
Wall Street also geared up for the start of earnings season. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are among the companies set to report later this week.
Treasury yields have risen sharply over the past month amid hawkish central-bank rhetoric. In that time period, the benchmark 10-year note yield has climbed to around 2.38% from approximately 2.2%.
Four Federal Reserve officials were slated to speak Tuesday, including Gov. Lael Brainard and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari. The speeches were to lead up to Fed Chair Janet Yellen's testimony Wednesday.
The Fed has raised rates twice this year and is expected to hike once more before 2017 ends. The central bank has also signaled its desire to start unwinding its massive $4.5-trillion balance sheet.
In economic news, the National Federation of Independent Business small business optimism index slipped to 103.6 in June from 104.5 in May.
Moreover, wholesale inventories rose 0.4% in May, marking their biggest gain in five months. Meanwhile, job openings decreased to 5.7 million in May, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were higher Tuesday, lowering yields to 2.36% from Monday’s 2.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gained 75 cents to $45.15 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices recovered $2.60 to $1,215.80 U.S. an ounce.
