Stocks in Canada’s largest centre rocketed higher Wednesday, powered by gains in tech and health-care issues.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 135.54 points to close Wednesday at 15,609.66
The Canadian dollar staggered 0.8 cents to 80.13 cents U.S
Tech stocks made headway, as BlackBerry bloomed 20 cents, or 1.8%, to $11.49, while Constellation Software climbed $3.22 to $684.47.
Health-care stocks soared, as pharmacy chain Jean Coutu Group popped $1.45, or 6.3%, to $24.54, while Valeant Pharmaceutical leaped 56 cents, or 3.2%, to $17.98.
Consumer staples not only dug themselves out of a hole but grew by leaps and bounds, as Metro Inc. bounced higher $3.51, or 8.8%, to $43.60, while Restaurant Brands moved higher 63 cents to $79.59.
Gold moved into the red by day’s end, as Kinross Gold docked three cents to $5.25, while Barrick Gold surrendered two cents to $20.26.
Investors likely took positive vibes from a speech by Stephen Poloz early this afternoon. The Bank of Canada governor, speaking for the first time since raising interest rates twice this summer, cautioned there is no "predetermined path for interest rates" and said the central bank will proceed "cautiously" as it assesses the performance of the economy.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 0.32 points to 775.61
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive to end the session Wednesday. Information technology and health-care each climbed 1.5%, while consumer staples acquired 1.1%.
The lone negative stock was gold, down 0.7%
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday after the release of the GOP's tax plan framework and as investors eyed higher interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials hiked 56.39 points by the closing bell to 22,340.71, after posting its first four-day losing streak since June on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs had the greatest positive impact on the index.
Procter & Gamble and 3M had the greatest negative impact on the Dow. Nike pared losses to close 1.9% lower.
Earlier, the stock was the greatest negative impact on the Dow after the company reported its slowest quarterly sales growth in nearly seven years and forecasting a further drop in revenue from North America. The athletic wear company did report a 9% increase in Greater China sales.
The S&P 500 moved ahead 10.2 points to 2,507.04, after flirting with a new intraday high.
Financial stocks climbed 1.3% and information technology stocks also rose more than 1% as the best performers in the index. Utilities, real estate investment trusts and consumer staples led index declines.
The NASDAQ flew 73.1 points to 6,453.26
The Dow extended its gain after the House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative GOP lawmakers, endorsed the Trump tax reform plan outlined on Wednesday. The plan includes softer tax treatment for American companies to bring back profits they have held abroad, a process known as repatriation that is boosting shares of companies like Apple and Microsoft.
The GOP framework on tax reform released Wednesday would reduce the corporate tax rate to 20%, as many expected. It also proposes to create just three individual tax rates and double the standard deduction.
U.S. stock index futures climbed after durable goods orders showed a 1.7% increase in August. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft rose 0.9%, versus the 0.3% increase expected by economists.
Pending home sales fell 2.6% in August.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped sharply, raising yields to 2.3% from Tuesday’s 2.24%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 18 cents a barrel to $52.06 U.S.
Gold prices lost $15.50 to $1,286.20 U.S. an ounce
