Equities in Canada’s largest market finished Wednesday in solidly positive numbers, as massive gains in cannabis-related stocks more than counteracted losses in gold issues.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index worked its way up 54.82 points to conclude Wednesday at 16,072.05
The Canadian dollar gave back 0.17 cents to 77.82 cents U.S.
The gold sector took the biggest hit, as Barrick Gold dumped five cents to $14.95, while Goldcorp swooned 36 cents, or 2.7%, to $13.18.
The utilities sector also moved to the down side as Hydro One gave up a nickel to $19.66, while Fortis Inc. dropped 42 cents, or 1%, to $41.49.
Consumer staples were also red, as Restaurant Brands International plummeted 71 cents, or nearly 1%, to $74.28, while Saputo got clobbered 40 cents, or 1%, to $39.85.
The health-care sector was boosted by shares of Canopy Growth, which rose $3.74, or 6.4%, to $62.29, and Aurora Cannabis, up 47 cents, or 3.9%, to $12.40.
Energy moved ahead with Canadian Natural Resources up 17 cents to $42.17, while Suncor gained 62 cents, or 1.2%, to $51.05.
Tech stocks staged something of a comeback, as BlackBerry climbed 29 cents, or 2.2%, to $13.57, and Shopify leaped $5.71, or 2.9%, to $206.00.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 2.79 points to 707.25
Eight of the 12 subgroups were lower by Wednesday’s closing bell, as gold deducted 1.5% of its strength, utilities lost 1%, and consumer staples fell 0.9%
The four gainers were led emphatically by health-care stocks, triumphing 3.9%, energy, chugging ahead 1.8%, and information technology, up 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with investors grappling with rising interest rates after the release of strong U.S. economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average piled another 54.45 points atop Tuesday’s all-time close to 26,828.39
The S&P 500 gained 2.26 points to 2,935.51, as losses in consumer and utility stocks outweighed gains in the financial sector.
The NASDAQ moved lower 25.54 points to 8,025.08, with Apple rising 1.2%.
Investors sold stocks sensitive to rising rates, including utilities and consumer product companies with large dividends like Procter & Gamble.
Shares of banks, which tend to make more money in periods of rising rates, gained with J.P. Morgan Chase adding almost 1% on the day.
Citigroup also rose about 1%, while Bank of America gained 1.4%.
General Motors shares gained 2.2% after the company announced Honda is investing in GM's Cruise Holdings subsidiary. The two automakers will work toward building an autonomous vehicle. GM also said Honda's investment puts Cruise's valuation at $14.6 billion.
The Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing index reached its highest level on record, according to data released Wednesday.
Private payrolls increased by 230,000 in September — the most since February — according to a report from ADP and Moody's Analytics.
Economists polled by Refinitiv (formerly Thomson Reuters) expected a gain of 185,000. The report is often seen as a preview to the government's non-farm payrolls report, which is set for release Friday morning.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury posted heavy losses, raising yields to 3.16% from Tuesday’s 3.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices improved 96 cents at $76.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices descended $4.40 to $1,203.10 U.S. an ounce.
