Stocks in Canada’s largest market recovered from a not-so-promising opening and produced healthy gains, led by tech and industrials
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 46.42 points to close Wednesday at 16,212.66
The Canadian dollar faded 0.15 cents to 74.51 cents U.S.
Techs led the parade, with Shopify gaining $24.44, or 6.6%, to $392.37, while Constellation Software zoomed $15.76, or 1.4%, to $1,162.07.
Industrials also performed well, with Bombardier adding 19 cents, or 9.7%, to $2.15, while Badger Daylighting grew $1.39, or 3%, to $48.41.
Among consumer staples, Saputo gathered 69 cents, or 1.5%, to $45.95, while Premium Brands Holdings jumped $1.14, or 1.4%, to $85.00
Energy stocks went in reverse, as Peyto Exploration descended 35 cents, or 7.5%, to $4.32, while Crescent Point Energy dropped 32 cents, or 7.2%, to $4.11.
Materials also folded, primarily Canfor Corp., down 40 cents, or 4.3%, to $8.99, while Hudbay Minerals doffed 29 cents, or 4.3%, to $6.43.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 4.1 points to 596.90
All but two of the 12 Toronto subgroups were higher, with information technology climbing 2.3%, while industrials and consumer staples each up 1.1%.
The two declining groups were energy, down 2.7%, and materials, sliding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks added to strong week-to-date performance on Wednesday as investors grew even more confident that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this year to reignite an economy wounded by trade battles.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped 207.39 points to end the midweek session at 25,539.57
The S&P 500 increased 22.88 points to 2,826.15,
The NASDAQ Composite added 48.36 points to 7,575.48.
Tech shares jumped 1.4% while the utilities and real estate sectors got a boost from lower rates. Apple contributed to tech’s gains, rising 1.6% after CEO Tim Cook said the company had not been targeted by China amid rising U.S.-China trade fears. Salesforce, meanwhile, rose 5.1% on stronger than expected earnings.
The consumer staples sector also rose more than 1%, led by an 8.6% rally in Campbell Soup. The stock popped on quarterly numbers that topped Wall Street estimates.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday the central bank will keep an eye on current developments in the economy, and would do what it must to "sustain the expansion." Powell did, however, note that the central bank could not determine when or how global trade issues would be settled.
Private payrolls increased by just 27,000 in May, according to data from ADP and Moody’s Analytics released Wednesday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected an increase of 173,000 jobs. May’s print was the worst since March 2010.
Trade tensions were slightly assuaged, however, as several Republican lawmakers have noted their opposition to new tariffs on Mexican imports while some have hinted at the possibility of blocking such levies.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is scheduled to meet with People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang this weekend. This would be the first in-person meeting between key trade negotiators from the U.S. and China.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained slightly, lowering yields to 2.12% from Tuesday’s 2.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $1.77 to $51.71U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $6.60 at $1,335.30 U.S. an ounce.
