Equities found their way doggedly into the green by Tuesday’s closing bell, as strength in energy and health-care overcame losses in tech issues.
The S&P/TSX Composite surged 42.25 points to end Tuesday at 16,537.34
The Canadian dollar gained 0.12 cents to 76.06 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Birchcliff Energy which jumped 13 cents, or 6%, to $2.22 followed by shares of Seven Generations Energy rose 23 cents, or 4.5%, to $8.29.
Health-care stocks got some traction, with Aurora Cannabis rocketing 32 cents, or 4.2%, to $8.24. Cronos Group was a worthy runner-up, gathering 60 cents, or 4%, to $15.49.
Financials were also on the plus side, Laurentian Bank venturing upward 79 cents, or 1.8%, to $43.78, while Bank of Montreal $1.57, or 1.7%, to $94.78
Shares of Kinaxis dropped $2.35, or 2.9%, to $77.64 and Shopify fell back $29.02, or 6.2%, to $442.99, among the top decliners on the tech index.
Among gold stocks, Kirkland Lake Gold sank $3.21, or 5.2%, to $58.47, while Eldorado Gold gulched 34 cents, or 3%, to $11.00.
Consumer discretionary stocks also paled, as Restaurant Brands International doffed $4.12, or 4.2%, to $94.47, while Aritzia docked 27 cents, or 1.6%, to $17.09.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported the number of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities rose 3.0% to $8.3 billion in July, largely due to increases in multi-family and commercial permits in July.
Elsewhere, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that the trend in housing starts was 218,998 units in August 2019, compared to 208,931 units in July 2019.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 1.15 points to 582.56
The 12 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided, as energy roared 2%, health-care zoomed 1.9%, and financials added 0.7%.
The half-dozen laggards were led by information technology, down 2.6%, gold, shedding 1.1%, and consumer discretionary stocks, off 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks ended the day little changed on Tuesday, weighed down by a continuing decline in tech shares while Ford was pressured by a downgrade to its credit rating.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average strengthened 73.92 points to close the session at 26,909.43, posting a five-day winning streak.
The S&P 500 squeaked higher 0.96 points to 2,979.35
The NASDAQ Composite subtracted 3.28 points to 8,084.15
Shares of Facebook gained 1.4%, while Amazon took on 0.6%,
Netflix shares dropped 2.2% after Apple unveiled a TV service for $4.99 per month.
Ford Motor was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500 on Tuesday, dropping 1.4%. The stock fell after Moody’s downgraded the auto maker’s credit rating to junk status, citing below-expectations profit margins and cash flow.
Huawei dropped Tuesday one of its lawsuits against the U.S., after some equipment seized by Washington nearly two years ago was returned to the company.
Huawei’s lawsuit drop is the latest sign that tensions between the U.S. and China are easing ahead of a meeting scheduled for Oct. 1. The world’s largest economies have been engaged in a trade war since last year. Over that time, they have slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of their goods.
On the economic slate, job openings were little changed at 7.2 million on the last business day of July. Over the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also said, hires edged up to six million and separations increased to 5.8 million.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury sank, boosting yields to 1.74% from Monday’s 1.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices dipped 28 cents to $57.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $16.20 to $1,494.90 U.S. an ounce.
