It was the recovery investors had been waiting days for, as stocks in Canada’s largest market cast off the gloom and actually started making some gains Tuesday.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index finally crawled out of its cave to gain 29.12 points, and close Tuesday at 15,363.93
The Canadian dollar was up 0.2 cents at 79.96 cents U.S.
The biggest riser was cannabis company Canopy Growth, which gained $4.27, or 17.6%, to $28.48. Elsewhere in health-care, Valeant Pharmaceuticals hiked $1.16, or 5.4%, to $22.83.
Among consumer discretionary stocks, Magna International acquired $3.06, or 4.7%, to $68.66.
Energy stocks moved positive, as Imperial Oil picked up 47 cents, or 1.3%, to $36.00, while TransCanada Corporation gained 18 cents to $54.65.
Gold stocks, though, slumbered, as Barrick Gold dropped 18 cents, or 1.1%, to $16.89, while Goldcorp lost 46 cents, or 2.7%, to $16.39.
In materials, Agnico Eagle Mines lost $1.12, or 2%, to $55.00.
Utilities were also negative, as Fortis jettisoned 92 cents, or 2.2%, to $41.22, while Hydro One fell 43 cents, or 2%, to $20.81.
One of the biggest weights on the index was Element Fleet Management, a provider of services and financing for commercial vehicle fleets, which fell $2.35 or 29.6% to $5.60, after issuing a profit warning on Monday.
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada that our merchandise trade deficit with the world totaled $3.2 billion in December, widening from a $2.7-billion deficit in November. Imports rose 1.5% and exports were up 0.6%.
Western University’s Purchasing Managers’ Index was also released Tuesday, and the seasonally-adjusted index fell to 55.2 in January from 60.4 in December, and 57.2 in January 2017. A reading above 50 indicates an increase in the pace of activity.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 26.42 points, or 3.3%, to close Tuesday at 829.65
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups remained lower on the day, with gold scaling back 2%, materials down 1%, and utilities off 0.8%.
The three gainers were health-care, swelling 8%, consumer discretionary stocks, up 1.2%, and energy, rumbling ahead 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
After two huge selloffs in a row, U.S. stocks were all over the map on Tuesday. Investors blamed the wild moves on a combination of interest-rate fears, computer-driven trading and the obscure volatility funds that use leverage.
The Dow Jones Industrial roared ahead 567.02 points, or 2.3%, to 24,912.77. At its session low it was down by 567.01 points, to trade in a range of 1,167.49 points. DowDuPont was the best performer on the Dow, rising nearly 6%.
The S&P 500 gained 46.2 points, or 1.7%, to 2,695.14, with tech as the best-performing sector.
The NASDAQ hurtled 148.36 points higher, or 2.1%,to 7,115.88,
On Monday, the Dow dropped 1,175.21 points, having briefly declined more than 1,500 points during the session. Other major indexes closed sharply lower. The selloff kicked into action on Friday, after the latest non-farm payrolls report saw interest rates in the U.S. jump.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note faded, upping yields to 2.8% from Monday’s 2.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 70 cents a barrel to $63.45 U.S.
Gold prices backtracked $10.70 to $1,325.80U.S. an ounce.
