Stocks in Toronto benefited from bargain hunters, who surfaced once again after a series of events – mostly concerned with the coronavirus outbreak – knocked prices down to levels not see in years.
The TSX Composite Index popped 449.84 points, or 2.3%., to end Thursday’s session at 12,170.46
The Canadian dollar slumped 0.18 cents at 68.95 cents U.S.
Health-care proved the star sector, as HEXO sprouted 28 cents, or 53.9% ,to 80 cents, while Bausch Health Companies climbed $2.77, or 15.3%, to $20.93.
Among gold issues, Kirkland Lake Gold screamed higher $8.55, or 25.5%, to $42.15, while Interfor gained $1.23, or 24.4%, to $6.27.
In the materials sector, MAG Silver added $2.43, or 23.7%, to $12.69, while Silvercorp Metals were up 79 cents, or 21.8%, to $4.42.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada new housing price index was up 0.4% in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 14.87 points, or 4.4%, to 353.67.
All 12 TSX subgroups were positive to end the day, with health-care haler 9.8%, gold surging 9%, and materials up 8.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks closed higher Thursday, erasing steep losses from earlier in the day as strong gains in big-tech shares led to a sharp turnaround.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved ahead 188.27 points, or nearly 1%, to close at 20,087.19.
The broader S&P 500 recovered 11.29 points to 2,409.
The NASDAQ jumped 160.73 points, or 2.3%, to 7,150.58.
Shares of Netflix advanced 5.3%, and Facebook 4.2%. Amazon gained 2.8%.
Among the industries trading in positive territory Thursday was energy, with the S&P sector up more than 6%. Big oil producers like Diamondback Energy and Apache rose more than 11% each as futures contracts tied to the price of West Texas Intermediate crude rallied 23%, its biggest one-day move ever.
Wall Street has been on an unprecedented roller-coaster ride amid the coronavirus turmoil, with the S&P 500 swinging 4% or more in either direction for eight consecutive sessions prior to Thursday.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.19% from Wednesday’s 1.21%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $4.92 to $25.29 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $5.40 to $1,472.50 U.S. an ounce.
