Toronto stocks again moved into higher – indeed, record – territory Tuesday, mostly on the strength of health-care concerns such as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and Canopy Growth Corporation.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 39.59 points to close Tuesday at 16,131.79
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.07 cents to 78.29 cents U.S.
Valeant soared $2.68, or 17.4%, to $18.11 after it reported a forecast-beating quarterly profit on the strength of its Bausch and Lomb eye-care business, propelling big leaps by the health-care sector in general.
Elsewhere in health-care, Canopy Growth boosted 81 cents, or 4.2%, to $20.18.
Among telecoms, TELUS Corporation assumed 42 cents to $46.98, while BCE improved 26 cents to $60.94.
In the tech field, BlackBerry lost 15 cents, or 1.1%, to $13.83.
Tahoe Resources Inc tumbled 47 cents, or 7.6%, to $5.69 after the company reported a quarterly loss, with some investors remaining concerned about the uncertainty around its growth plans and its Escobal mine. Goldcorp slumped seven cents to $16.86.
Energy stocks waned on the day, as Canadian Natural Resources settled 48 cents, or 1%, to $46.26, while Trican Well Service docked eight cents, or 1.5%, to $5.21.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 0.99 points to 796.59
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split Tuesday, as health-care ballooned 6.2%, while real-estate was 1% more solid, and telecoms bettered themselves by 0.7%.
The half-dozen laggards were co-led by information technology and gold, each down 0.3%, while energy faltered 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Media stocks shined on Tuesday as investor sentiment was lifted by the prospects of deal making within the sector. But while the media sector rose, the broader market posted a mixed session.
The Dow Jones industrial average added 8.81 points to Monday’s record high to 23,557.23
The S&P 500 slipped 0.49 points from Monday’s all-time high to 2,590.64,
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 18.65 points from Monday’s all-time record to 6,767.78
Still, the major averages have had a banner year, rising more than 15% to all-time highs.
Shares of Discovery Communications jumped 1.3% and were among the best performers on the S&P 500. CBS shares, meanwhile, rose 1.1% Disney's stock also finished higher, advancing 1%; it was also the best-performing stock on the 30-issue Dow index.
Deal making hopes were stoked by news that Disney approached 21st Century Fox on a deal. The two companies have been in talks in recent weeks, but there is no certainty that a deal will get done. The two stocks rose on Monday and are up for a second straight day.
Strong corporate earnings, along with improving economic data and the prospects of changes to the U.S. tax code, have helped stocks climb higher since President Donald Trump was elected.
But the market's rally can be traced back to just after the U.S. presidential election last year. Since Nov. 8, 2016, the indexes are up at least 20%.
In the first and second quarter of the year, S&P 500 earnings grew 15.5% and 10.8% respectively. The current earnings season has been a strong one, too. Experts say third-quarter earnings have grown 6.3% on a year-over-year basis.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained slightly by midday Tuesday, lowering yields to 2.31% from Monday’s 2.32%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 11 cents a barrel to $57.24 U.S.
Gold prices slid $4.70 an ounce to $1,276.90 U.S.
