Equity markets in Canada’s biggest centre opened higher on Tuesday as a jump in oil prices boosted energy stocks, while signs of slowdown in coronavirus fatalities in major economies lifted sentiment.
The TSX Composite Index built on Monday’s huge gains, picking up 450.9 points, or 3.3%, to kick off the session Tuesday at 14,043.60.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.97 cents to 71.68 cents U.S.
British cinema operator Cineworld said it has shut all its 787 cinemas across 10 countries due to the coronavirus pandemic and that it was in talks with its lenders for ongoing liquidity requirements.
The company said it was monitoring the progress of its $1.65-billion takeover of Canadian rival Cineplex, a deal that had led Cineworld to take on additional financing of about $2.2 billion, triggering concerns about its debt pile.
Cineplex shares jumped 19 cents, or 1.7%, to $11.11.
CIBC cut the target price on Air Canada to $29.00 from $37.00. Air Canada shares were cleared for takeoff $1.77, or 11.7%, to $16.93.
JPMorgan cut the target price on Canadian Natural Resources to $26.00 from $27.00. Natural Resources shares gushed 59 cents, or 3.1%, to $19.65.
RBC cut the target price on Rogers Communications to $64.00 from $66.00. Rogers shares vaulted 75 cents, or 1.2%, to $62.52.
On the economic calendar, Western University’s IVEY School of Business’ Purchasing Managers’ Index tumbled to 26.0 in March, far below the 54.1 reading in February and the 54.3 level it displayed in March 2019
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 7.78 points, or 2%, to 406.97.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive in the first hour, with consumer discretionary skyrocketing 7%, real-estate climbing 6.3%, and energy rumbling 5.9% higher.
The two laggards were gold, dulling in price 1.6%, and materials, weaker by 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rallied on Tuesday, building on the strong gains from the previous session, as investors grew more optimistic about a decline in new coronavirus cases.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 481.04 points, or 2.1%, to 23,161.03. Those gains initially numbered around 800 points.
The S&P 500 climbed 47.64 points, or 1.8%, to 2,711.32. The S&P 500 is up 24.7% from its 52-week low set March 23 while the Dow has bounced 28% from its low.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 91.15 points, or 1.2%, to 8,004.38.
Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean all surged more than 23%. United Airlines and MGM Resorts jumped more than 14% each. Raytheon Technologies led the Dow higher with a 9% surge. Darden Restaurants rallied more than 18% after the restaurant company said it has not used any cash from a $750-million revolving credit agreement.
The moves higher came after a series of positive coronavirus developments from around the world.
In the U.S., the number of new cases appears to have fallen in recent days from their recent peak. Italy and Spain, two of the hardest-hit countries, are also seeing new cases fall off.
In Asia, South Korea reported less than 50 new cases of infection for the second day running. China also posted no new deaths as of April 6 for the first time since January when it started publishing daily updates.
The two Asian countries were among those which saw spikes in infection rates earlier in the outbreak, with the first cases being reported out of China.
Still, the cases in the U.S., the world’s most affected country, topped 368,000 with at least 10,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury plummeted, lifting yields to 0.76% from Monday’s 0.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 44 cents to $26.52 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices ditched $4.60 to $1,689.30 U.S. an ounce.
