Stocks in Canada’s main centre turned in another prosperous performance Tuesday, led by consumer staples and industrials
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 100.37 points to greet Tuesday’s closing bell at 15,702.69
The Canadian dollar fell 0.11 cents to 76.13 cents U.S.
Consumer staples won the battle of gainers, as Maple Leaf Foods climbed 40 cents, or 1.3%, to $30.24, while Loblaw Companies heightened $1.58, or 2.5%, to $66.10.
WestJet Airlines rose 73 cents, or 3.6%, to $20.93, after reporting a quarterly profit that beat analysts' estimates, as a rise in passenger traffic helped offset an increase in expenses.
Bombardier picked up two cents, or 1.1%, to $1.93.
Among utilities, Fortis gained 44 cents to $47.38, while Emera Incorporation acquired 31 cents to $46.30
Cronos Group fell $1.85, or 6.1%, to $28.72, while Aphria was down 29 cents, or 2%, to $13.92. The cannabis firms cooled off after a two-day rally.
In the energy field, Imperial Oil ducked back 28 cents to $36.11.
On the economic docket, as a partial result of the U.S. government shutdown, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday Tuesday’s release of the December 2018 reference month will be delayed till a later date.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hesitated 4.63 points to 620.63
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups remained higher, as consumer staples grew 2.1%, industrials were stronger by 1%, and utilities improved 0.8%.
The two laggards were health-care, slumping 1.4%, and energy, off 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Tuesday as investors eagerly awaited President Donald Trump's latest State of the Union address while the corporate earnings season rolled on.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average vaulted 172.15 points to 25,411.52, led by Apple and Intel.
The S&P 500 gained 12.83 points to 2,737.70, on the back of gains from the tech, communications services and consumer discretionary sectors.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 54.55 points to 7,402.08
Trump's address is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET. The speech comes more than a week after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history came to an end. Investors should be looking for clues on a number of matters, including U.S.-China trade talks.
Alphabet, Seagate Technology and Estee Lauder are among the companies that have reported better-than-expected earnings. Alphabet shares closed 0.9% higher. Seagate shares dipped 0.9%, however.
Estee Lauder, meanwhile, jumped 11.6% on better-than-expected results. The company also raised its 2019 earnings guidance. Archer-Daniels Midland fell 5.9% after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue.
Nearly half of S&P 500 companies had reported earnings through Tuesday morning, with about 70% of those companies topping analyst expectations
Data show that corporate earnings for the first quarter are expected to decline about 0.9%. Experts say, however, they expect earnings to continue growing in the first half of 2019, adding the negative estimates are mostly a by-product of "low-balled estimates."
Disney, Electronic Arts, Snap and Spirit Airlines were among the companies scheduled to report after the bell Tuesday.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury moved higher, lowering yields to 2.7% from Monday’s 2.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 88 cents to $53.68 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped 20 cents to $1,319.10 U.S. an ounce.
