Equities in Canada’s largest centre came tantalizingly close to the historic 20,000-point mark in early trading Tuesday, as investors reacted to encouraging macroeconomic numbers
The TSX climbed 255.76 points, or 1.3%, Tuesday to reach yet another intraday high of 19,986.75.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.29 cents to 83.20 cents U.S.
Centerra Gold said Kyrgyzstan units Kumtor Gold and Kumtor Operating have commenced bankruptcy proceedings in a U.S. court following nationalization of the miner's Kumtor gold mine by the former Soviet republic.
Centerra shares inched lower two cents to $9.76.
Dye & Durham has received a buyout offer from a management-led shareholder group worth about $3.4 billion, less than a year after its flotation on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Moreover, CIBC raised Dye’s target price to $50.50 from $47.50, Dye shares squirted higher three cents to $48.27.
BMO cut the target price on Fortis to $57.00 from $60.00. Fortis shares lost 30 cents to $54.52.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada says the economy continued to build steam this past spring. Real gross domestic product grew for the 11th consecutive month, expanding 1.1% in March, as 18 of 20 industrial sectors were up.
The headline Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index registered 57.0 in May, down fractionally from 57.2 in April, to signal the fifth-strongest growth in operating conditions in the survey to date.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gathered 4.95 points to 973.58.
All 12 subgroups were positive in the first hour, with energy sprinting 3.8%, information technology clicking higher 1.9%, and consumer discretionary stocks jumping 1.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Tuesday as enthusiasm about the economic reopening lifted travel and energy stocks.
The 30-stock index came off its highs of the early morning, but gained 83.65 points to start a shortened week and new month at 34,613.10, as weakness in technology stocks offset gains made in energy, materials and financials.
The S&P 500 added 5.1 points to 4,209.21.
The NASDAQ folded 12.07 points to 13,736.67, as technology stocks underperformed the broader market.
Markets in the U.S. were shuttered Monday for Memorial Day.
The gains came as COVID cases continue to decline and vaccinations rise in the U.S. In a major milestone, more than half the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID vaccination, according to data posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The improving domestic coronavirus situation, coupled with the arrival of summertime weather, sparked another day of strong gains in Wall Street’s reopening trades like travel and hospitality.
American Airlines and United Airlines each gained 2% after the Transportation Security Administration said it screened an average of 1.78 million people from Friday through Monday, well above the volumes one year ago and another sign that U.S. air travel has reached a pandemic-era high.
Those volumes are more than six times higher than a year ago but still 22% below Memorial Day weekend in 2019.
Meanwhile, aircraft maker Boeing gained 2.2% after one analyst recommended investors discount near-term hurdles for the Dow component and buy the stock while it’s still below where it traded in early 2020.
Shares of cruise-operators Carnival Corp. and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, two other reopening bellwethers, jumped more than 2% apiece.
Energy stocks gained as U.S. oil futures jumped 3% to above $68 a barrel. Exxon, Chevron and Marathon Petroleum all rose.
Meme stock AMC Entertainment was jumping again after selling $230.5 million in new stock to an investor. The shares were up 12% after doubling last week.
Zoom Video Communications and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are set to report quarterly earnings results on Tuesday after the bell.
The blue-chip Dow collected 1.9% and the S&P 500 gained 0.6% in May, to mark their fourth consecutive positive month.
The NASDAQ gained 2.06% last week to post its best weekly performance since April. However, the tech-heavy composite lost 1.53% in
May, breaking a six-month win streak.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys dropped, raising yields to 1.63% from Friday’s 1.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked $2.27 to $68.59 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices staggered $5.20 to $1,900.10 U.S. an ounce.
