Equities in Canada’s largest centre finished in the green mid-week Wednesday, thanks to powerful performances in the health-care field.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 48.57 points to close Wednesday at 16,170.82
The Canadian dollar cleared breakeven, but only 0.04 cents to 77.16 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks again proved the clear champions, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals ballooned $2.22, or 7.3%, to $32.81, while Aphria exploded 63 cents, or 5.2%, to $12.79.
Materials sector stock also performed well, with Teck Resources growing 64 cents, or 1.7%, to $37.97, and First Quantum Minerals climbing $1.21, or 5.7%, to $22.52.
Among tech issues, BlackBerry acquired 40 cents, or 2.5%, to $16.18, while Constellation Software gained $12.18, or 1.2%, to $1,051.90
In consumer staples, Saputo dropped 26 cents to $44.14, while grocer Metro stepped back 64 cents, or 1.5%, to $42.50.
In the utilities field, Hydro One gave back five cents to $19.43, while Fortis Inc. docked 41 cents, or 1%, to $40.39.
In the gold sector, Ivanhoe Mines dipped two cents to $3.34. Barrick Gold declined 12 cents to $16.70.
Hudson's Bay Co. recovered from a negative morning to spring ahead 43 cents, or 4.1%, to $10.89, after analysts cut price targets following dismal first-quarter results.
It’s been a busy day in the economic docket, with Statistics Canada reporting that Canada's exports rose 1.6% to a record $48.6 billion in April, while imports were down 2.5% to $50.5 billion. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $3.9 billion in March to $1.9 billion in April.
Also, the agency said municipalities issued $7.8 billion worth of building permits in April, down 4.6% from March. Declines were reported in every component except commercial buildings.
Western University’s IVEY Business School’s Purchasing Manager's Index (seasonally adjusted) for May stands at 62.5, indicating that purchases were considerably lower than the previous month. That compares with 71.5 in April, and with 53.8 in May 2017
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture advanced 6.59 points to 774.44
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher on the day, thanks mostly to health-care, racing 4.8%, materials, up 1%, and information technology, clicking 0.9%.
The four laggards were weighed most by consumer staples, off 1%, utilities, setting 0.8%, and gold, off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Wednesday as bank shares rallied on higher interest rates, while Boeing climbed
The Dow ballooned 346.41 points, or 1.4%, to 25,146.39, with Boeing rising 3.2% and contributing the most to the gains. J.P Morgan and Goldman Sachs were also among the biggest contributors of gains.
The Dow also broke above 25,000 for the first time since May 22.
Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley all rose more than 2% while Goldman Sachs advanced 1.7%.
The S&P 500 grew 23.55 points to 2,772.35, as financials rose 1.9%, getting a boost from higher interest rates.
The NASDAQ gained 51.38 points to 7,689.24, and hit a record high as tech regained earlier losses. But tech's gains were capped after the Financial Times reported the European Union was set to unveil a negative finding from a probe on Google. Shares of Google-parent Alphabet closed 0.4% lower on the news.
Tech has been on fire recently, rising more than 6% over the past month to a record high. The best-performing tech names over that time include chip makers Advanced Micro Devices, Micron Technology and Microchip Technology. PayPal, Electronic Arts and Facebook are also up sharply over the past month.
Mexico — one of the biggest U.S. trade partners — unveiled tariffs on Tuesday that target U.S. goods such as pork, cheese and steel. This comes after the Trump administration last week slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union, Mexico and Canada.
Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the country plans to slap dollar-for-dollar tariffs on the U.S. Meanwhile, the E.U. threatened to retaliate with tariffs of its own.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury slouched, raising yields to 2.98% from Tuesday’s 2.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 44 cents at $65.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gave back $1.10 to $1,301.10 U.S. an ounce.
