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Stocks Finish with Strong Gains

MEG, Docebo in Focus

Stocks in Toronto struggled at first, but finished strong Wednesday, led by energy and tech issues.

The S&P/TSX Composite grew 94.66 points to 21,548.23.

The Canadian dollar squeezed higher 0.09 cents at 78.97 cents U.S.

Energy again proved star of the show, with MEG Energy hiking 43 cents, or 3.8%, to $11.83, while Parex Resources climbed 46 cents, or 2.8%, to $23.44.

In techs, Docebo leaped $4.57, or 5.2%, to $91.93, while Nuvei
Corp. popped $4.90, or 4.1%, to $121.46.

Health-care stocks gained, too, with OrganiGram Holdings picking up 15 cents, or 5.8%, to $2.73, while Tilray gained 44 cents, or 3.3%, to $13.75.

Couche-Tard ditched $2.27, or 4.5%, to $47.70, as the convenience store operator posted second-quarter profit that declined from a year earlier and narrowly missed market expectations.

Elsewhere, Empire Company toppled 66 cents, or 1.7%, to $37.33.

Gold took some knocks, as New Gold faltered seven cents, or 3.6%, to $1.90, while Kirkland Lake Gold slipped 41 cents to $51.68.

In utilities, Innergex dropped 18 cents to $19.22, while Fortis Inc. lost 44 cents to $56.11.

Canada's warehouses are filling up with everything from furniture to alcohol, after floods in British Columbia washed out critical rail and road lines, disrupting already strained supply chains.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 10.99 points to 970.48.

Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green, with energy surging 1.9%, while information technology and health-care each climbing 1.6%.

The five laggards were weighed most by consumer staples, down 1.8%, gold, off 0.6%, and utilities, sliding 0.3%.

ON WALLSTREET

U.S. stocks pushed modestly higher on Wednesday as the recent jump in bond yields took a breather, allowing tech stocks to recover.

The Dow Jones Industrials climbed to within 9.42 points of breakeven by the closing bell Wednesday to 35,804.38.

The S&P 500 index struggled to a gain of 10.76 points to 4,701.46

The NASDAQ resurfaced 17.42 points to 15,845.23.

Shares of Facebook-parent Meta rose 1.1% to bolster the NASDAQ, while Roku and Peloton shook off rough starts to the week to rise more than 2% each. Computer hardware company HP’s shares got a 10% lift after reporting earnings that beat on the top and bottom lines and issuing higher first-quarter earnings guidance.

The move in rates earlier this week sent investors fleeing from tech and growth shares, while boosting some bank stocks and energy shares.

The divided market has left the Dow in the green for the week so far, the S&P 500 little changed and the NASDAQ down more than 1%, even with Wednesday’s move.

Earnings reports drove some of the biggest individual moves on Wednesday, as traditional retail stocks took a hit following poor quarterly results. Gap lost 24% and Nordstrom tumbled about 29%. Both companies reported earnings misses for the most recent quarter.

Elsewhere, software stock Autodesk fell 15% after the company issued disappointing fourth-quarter guidance.

The market did receive some positive news on the economic front. Initial jobless claims for the prior week came in at 199,000, the lowest level in more than 50 years. Gross Domestic Product growth for the third quarter was revised up slightly to 2.1%. Personal income and consumer spending both rose more than expected.

The data was not uniformly positive, however, as durable goods orders showed an unexpected decline in October, according to the Census Bureau. Core PCE, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, was up 4.1% year over year for October, matching estimates.

U.S. markets will be closed Thursday on Thanksgiving Day. The stock market closes early at 1 p.m. ET on Friday.

Prices for 10-year Treasurys gained back some ground, lowering yields to 1.64% from Tuesday’s 1.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices settled 18 cents to $78.32 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices regained five dollars to $1,788.70 U.S. an ounce.