Stocks in Toronto again cleared breakeven Tuesday – if barely – as health-care issues leaped for the sky yet again, though losses in tech stocks threatened to spoil the party.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 10.52 points to conclude Tuesday at 16,114.03
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.08 cents to 77.72 cents U.S.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals rose $1.92, or 7.3%, to $28.37, while Concordia International gained a penny, or 1.6%, to 65 cents.
In the materials sector. First Quantum Minerals gained 25 cents, or 1.6%, to $16.15, while Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corporation picked up 42 cents, or 1.8%, to $24.40.
Among consumer staples, Empire Company – parent of the Sobeys food store chain – added 17 cents to $26.23, while Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. gained 31 cents to $67.04.
Among tech stocks, Constellation Software was punished $3.70 to $781.30m while Intermap Technologies descended four cents, or 7.1%, to 52 cents.
In the energy sector, Surge Energy lost four cents, or 1.8%, to $1.92, while TransCanada Corporation dropped 34 cents to $62.46.
In the gold patch, Goldcorp Inc. lost five cents to $15.16, while Wesdome Gold Mines gave up three cents, or 1.7%, to $1.70.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.35 points to 797.71
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive on the day, with health-care running away from the pack, gaining 2.1%, while materials took on 0.6%, and consumer staples, up 0.5%.
The four laggards were weighed most by information technology, sliding 0.6%, energy, down 0.4%, and gold, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday amid growing optimism that Republican lawmakers would be able to revamp the corporate tax system. Wall Street also looked to the Federal Reserve as its two-day policy meeting kicked off.
The Dow Jones industrials chugged 118.77 points above Monday’s record close to 24,504.80, boosted by gains in Boeing and Verizon.
The S&P 500 added 4.12 points to 2,664.11, also an all-time closing high, with telecommunications and financials outperforming.
The NASDAQ composite index docked 12.76 points to 6,862.32
In corporate news, Boeing shares surged 2.4% after the company raised its dividend and approved an $18-billion buyback.
Verizon's stock, meanwhile, rose 2.6% after Nomura upgraded it to "buy" from "neutral." Nomura also raised its price target on Verizon to $61 per share from $47, representing a 17.7% upside from Monday's close.
The U.S. central bank began its meeting on Tuesday and is largely expected to announce an interest rate hike on Wednesday at 2 p.m. New York time. Market expectations for a 25-basis-point rate increase were at 87% on Tuesday
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sagged, raising yields to 2.4% from Monday’s 2.39%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices tumbled 73 cents a barrel to $57.26 U.S.
Gold prices moved to within 80 cents of breakeven -- after floundering most of the day -- to $1,246.10 U.S. an ounce.
