Equities in Toronto found their way emphatically in positive territory Tuesday, with much of the push coming from health-care and tech stocks.
The S&P/TSX popped 284.6 points or 1.4%, to end Tuesday at 20,491.01
The Canadian dollar progressed 0.21 cents at 78.02 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks jumped with Well Health Technologies ahead 19 cents, or 5%, to $3.98, while Tilray climbed 30 cents, or 4.8%, to $6.56.
Among tech stocks Dye & Durham popped $4.31, or 21.7%, to $24.32, while Docebo hiked $3.42, or 8.7%, to $42.69.
Among mining ventures, First Quantum leaped $2.37, or 7.1%, to $36.49, while Teck Resources spiked $2.44, or 5%, to $51.44.
Consumer staples did not have such a good time, though, with Alimentation Couche-Tard slumping $1.18, or 2%, to $57.78, while Metro lost $1.24, or 1.8%, to $69.70.
In gold stocks, Iamgold dished off nine cents, or 3.2%, to $2.71, while Centerra Gold skidded 24 cents, or 2.3%, to $10.16.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported foreign investors acquired $46.9 billion of Canadian securities in March, the largest investment since April 2020.
At the same time, Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $24.0 billion, following a $9.9-billion divestment in February.
Meanwhile, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported housing starts spiked 8% over a month earlier to 267,330 units in April above market expectations of 246,400 units.
CHMC also said urban starts surged by 10% to 245,324 units in April, as multi-unit urban starts climbed by 14% to 178,092 units and single-detached urban starts increased by 1% to 67,232 units
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange grew 11.95 points, or 1.7%, to 712.49.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive by the closing bell, health-care haler 2.8%, information technology surging 2.2%, and materials up 2%.
The two laggards proved to be consumer staples, fading 1.1%, and gold, off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as the market bounce back from a punishing bear market for the tech-heavy NASDAQ and a sharp pullback for the S&P 500 gained steam.
The Dow Jones Industrials boarded the elevator upward, 431.17 points, or 1.3%, to close Tuesday at 32,654.59.
The S&P 500 leaped 80.84 points, or 2%, to 4,088.85
The NASDAQ Composite hiked 321.73 points, or 2.8%, to 11,984.52.
Those gains marked the market’s latest attempt at a recovery following weeks of steep losses. The S&P 500 is coming off a six-week losing streak — its longest since 2011. The Dow, meanwhile, has fallen for seven straight weeks, marking its longest weekly slide since 2001.
Shares of Citigroup and Paramount Global surged on Tuesday after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed its holdings in the two companies.
Citigroup jumped 7.6% after Warren Buffett’s conglomerate revealed it added a nearly $3 billon stake in the struggling bank during the first quarter. Citi shares have underperformed the rest of the financial sector in the past 12 months, down 34.1%
Meanwhile, shares of Paramount Global also surged 15.4% after Berkshire built a stake worth $2.6 billion in the company as of the end of March.
Elsewhere, semiconductor stocks climbed. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices jumped 8.7% following an upgrade from Piper Sandler, which said the stock looked attractive after its tumble this year. Nvidia’s stock price rose 5.3%, Qualcomm’s jumped 4.3% and Micron Technology’s rose 5.7%.
Travel stocks popped after United Airlines raised its revenue outlook for the second quarter on improved consumer demand. United Airlines’ stock price rose 7.9%, Delta’s jumped 6.7% and American Airlines’ advanced 7.7%.
Meanwhile, earnings reports from major consumer companies Home Depot and Walmart appeared to convey diverging stories on consumer resiliency amid inflation.
Home Depot shares climbed 1.7% following better-than-expected quarterly results. The home improvement retailer also raised its full-year outlook. In a Tuesday note, Jefferies analysts called the company a “beneficiary of a healthy consumer” committed to remodeling projects.
At the same time, Walmart shares dropped 11.4% after the retail giant reported an earnings miss because of rising prices. The company raised its sales outlook, but lowered its profit forecast.
On the economic front, retail sales numbers came in about as expected. Consumer spending on retail rose 0.9% in April, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. They rose 0.4% excluding spending on autos.
Treasury prices sagged, raising yields to 2.99% from Monday’s 2.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped $2.22 at $111.98 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted 30 cents to $1,813.70 U.S. an ounce.
