Canada’s main stock index contented itself with slight gains on Wednesday, even as sentiment soured on concerns over political strain between the United States and China, but a rally in cannabis producers led by Canopy Growth Corp kept losses at bay.
The TSX Composite Index forged ahead 24.9 points to move into Wednesday afternoon at 17,036.30
The Canadian dollar retreated 0.23 cents to 75.12 cents U.S.
Canopy Growth shares jumped $2.92, or 14.4%, to $23.23, after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to “buy,” saying Wall Street estimates now look achievable for maybe the first time in its history as a public company.
The broader healthcare sector jumped, with cannabis producers leading gains. Shares in Hexo galloped 17 cents, or 6.9%, to $2.62, while Aurora Cannabis acquired 43 cents, or 13.7%, to $3.54, and Aphria rose 35 cents, or 6.2%, to $6.03.
OceanaGold Corp spent most of the morning in minus territory, before recovering a penny to $2.51, Frontera Energy, however, wasn’t so successful, staying negative a nickel to $9.58.
On the macroeconomic front, Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index rose 1.9% on a year-over-year basis in October, matching the increase in August and in September. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, CPI rose 0.3% in October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recouped 2.47 points at 524.94
The 12 Toronto subgroups were evenly split by lunch time Wednesday, as health-care popped 5.1%, energy surged 2.1%, and information technology clicked 0.3%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by communications and industrials, each down 0.3%, while consumer discretionary stocks lost 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Wednesday, pulling back from record highs as investors took a pause to asses the trade situation and a batch of retail earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 78.3 points to 27,855.72.
The S&P 500 doffed 5.79 points to 3,114.39.
The NASDAQ backed off 7.99 points from Tuesday’s all-time high, at 8,562.67
Communications services proved the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500, sliding 0.8%. Home Depot and Pfizer led the Dow lower, dropping 1.7% and 1.1%, respectively. Those declines offset strong gains from retailers such as Target and Lowe’s.
Target shares jumped more than 12%, on pace for their biggest one-day gain since Aug. 21, after the retailer posted quarterly results that easily beat expectations. Target also raised its full-year profit outlook. Lowe’s advanced 5.8% on stronger-than-forecast earnings and an improved profit forecast for fiscal 2019.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing former Trump administration officials, that the ongoing trade talks could hit an impasse that would derail a so-called phase one trade deal. Uncertainty around trade also grew after the Senate passed a bill supporting Hong Kong protesters.
This led China to accuse the U.S. of interfering in domestic affairs.
Elsewhere, investors are awaiting minutes from the Federal Reserve’s October policy meeting at 2 p.m. The U.S. central bank decided to lower the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 1.5% to 1.75% late last month.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury acquired some new ground, lowering yields to 1.79% from Tuesday’s 1.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $2.03 to $57.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped seven dollars to $1,467.30 U.S. an ounce.
