Stocks in Toronto kept the ball rolling, so to speak, Wednesday, repairing some of the damage after several days of sharp declines with yet another steep rise.
The S&P/TSX Composite spiked 145.18 points, to end Wednesday at 21,070.05.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.54 cents at 77.92 cents U.S.
Energy shares powered the rise Wednesday, with Vermilion Energy jumping 81 cents, or 5.4%, to $15.93, while Crescent Point Energy picked up12 cents, or 2% to $6.10.
In real-estate, Altus Group climbed $1.53, or 2.2%, to $69.73, while units of Boardwalk REIT acquired $1.18, or 2.2%, to $54.42.
In resource issues, Capstone Mining gained 16 cents, or 3.1%, to $5.33, while Hudbay Minerals advanced 22 cents, or 2.5%, to $8.87.
Health-care stocks had a rough go of it Wednesday morning, weighed by pot producers Canopy Growth, which fell 42 cents, or 3.4%, to $12.06, while Cronos Group, let go of 13 cents, or 2.4%, to $5.41.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved upward 6.71 points to 916.17.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups stayed in the green till the close, with energy vaulting 1.3%, real-estate stronger by 1.1%, and materials better 0.9%.
The lone laggard proved to be health-care, down 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, rallying for a second day as the market continued to rebound from a three-day losing streak spurred by fears about the COVID omicron variant.
The Dow Jones Industrials grabbed 261.19 points to close Wednesday at 35,753.89, bringing its two-day rally to more than 800 points.
The S&P 500 index gained 47.33 points, or 1% to 4,696.56, on track for a winning week.
The NASDAQ vaulted 180.81 points, or 1.2%, at 15,521.89.
Trading is expected to be thin for the remainder of the week ahead of the holidays.
Caterpillar rose 1.9% after Bernstein upgraded the stock, saying the machinery maker will be a key beneficiary of a rebound in global growth.
Tesla shares hiked 7.4% after Elon Musk said in a podcast that he had reached his goal of selling 10% of his shares for tax reasons.
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday granted emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s COVID pill, the first antiviral drug against the virus for at-home use. Pfizer shares gained about 1%.
December, normally the calmest month for markets, has so far been the most volatile month of 2021, according to Bespoke Investment Group that looked at the S&P 500's average absolute daily change since 1953.
Prices for 10-year were slightly higher, dropping yields to 1.46% from Tuesday’s 1.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.80 to $72.92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $16.90 to $1,805.60 U.S. an ounce.
