Equities in Canada’s largest centre rose to six-week highs on Tuesday, led by telecoms, as oil and gas companies, bolstered by oil prices which hit five-month highs.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index grew 61.09 points to greet noon at 15,297.76
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 81.42 cents U.S.
Canadian Natural Resources rose 0.9% to $40.66, while Cenovus Energy advanced 2.7% to $11.54.
The energy group gained as crude oil prices traded near five-month highs after key Middle Eastern producers showed they were continuing to comply with output cuts under an OPEC-led deal.
Industrials rose, with Air Canada stock rising 1.6% to $24.03 after the airline set new financial targets and moved toward launching a rewards program.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales decreased 2.6% to $52.5 billion in July, following a 1.9% decline in June.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.98 points to reach noon at 777.76
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive to midday, with telecoms ahead 0.7%, while health-care and consumer staples each gained 0.6%.
The lone holdout was in industrials, down 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities rose on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve kicked off a two-day monetary policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrials 37.43 points on top of Monday’s all-time high to 22,368.78. Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble contributed the most to the gains.
The S&P 500 tacked on 3.65 points above Monday’s all-time record to 2,507.42, with telecommunications and financials leading advancers.
The NASDAQ recovered and gained 12.11 points from Monday’s all-time peak to 6,466.75
The Fed is not expected to raise rates following its meeting. However, many market participants believe the central bank will announce the unwinding of its massive $4.5-trillion portfolio.
The U.S. central bank has already raised interest rates twice this year and it expects to hike once more before year-end. Market expectations for a December rate hike rose to 58.3% on Tuesday on strong imports data.
U.S. import prices posted their biggest gain in seven months in August amid a spike in petroleum costs.
Wall Street also looked to the United Nations, where U.S. President Donald Trump tried to rally members to confront threats like North Korea. In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Trump said "North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles threatens the entire world with unthinkable loss of human life."
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note moved downward, raising yields to 2.24% from Monday’s 2.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 18 cents a barrel to $49.73
Gold prices stayed above water $1.40 to $1,312.20 U.S. an ounce
