Equity markets in Toronto were little changed on Tuesday after a major selloff Monday, as higher U.S. crude oil prices lifted shares of energy producers, while a drop in the bullion price weighed on gold miners.
The S&P/TSX composite index forged ahead 18.28 points, to close at 13,504.48, after dumping more than 200 points Monday
The Canadian dollar moved up 0.30 cents to 90.27 cents U.S.
Energy shares rose, as Canadian Natural Resources climbed 2.1% to $36.90, and Encana Corp jumped 3.9% to $20.37.
The materials sector, which includes mining stocks, was hurt by declines in gold-mining shares. Barrick Gold fell 1.3% to $21.14, though Goldcorp regained 1.1% to $27.79.
In corporate news, WestJet Airlines reported an 11% rise in fourth-quarter profit and raised its dividend. The stock was up 3.4% at $25.70.
The information technology section was among the fastest-growing on the index Tuesday, with BlackBerry climbing 5.8% to $31.05, and Aviglion leaping 4.6%, to $31.05.
Among the sectors still getting bruised, telecoms took a hit, most notably TELUS Corp., down 2.1% to $37.64, while rival Rogers slid 1.3% to $45.46.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.94 points to end Tuesday at 947.71
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were up, with information technology issues leading the way, up 1.2%, global base metals up 1.1%, and industrials, moving 0.8% forward.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by telecoms, down 0.8%, financials, sliding 0.4%, and real-estate, subsiding 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks bounced back Tuesday, a day after suffering a steep drop Monday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 72.44 points to end the day at 15,445.24
The S&P 500 index moved higher 13.31 points to 1,755.20. The NASDAQ added 34.56 points to 4,031.52
Several companies had good news to report Tuesday.
Microsoft shares were up slightly after the company named Satya Nadella to be its new CEO, replacing Steve Ballmer.
Investors seem hopeful that Nadella, who has led the company's rapidly growing cloud software division, will be able to help Microsoft become an even bigger presence in the cloud market.
Michael Kors shares surged 18% after reporting stronger sales and profits than expected. The luxury retailer's stock hit an all-time high and was the best performer in the S&P 500.
Shares of KFC-owner Yum! Brands jumped after it reported better-than-expected earnings, despite continued sluggishness with its KFC business in China.
J.C. Penney shares fell around 10% to new multi-decade lows even though the struggling retailer reported same-store sales growth for the holiday season. The company's management team is desperately trying to deliver on a much-hyped turnaround strategy.
Twitter was trading higher Tuesday. The company will release its first earnings report as a public company Wednesday.
ARM Holdings reported fourth quarter earnings that disappointed some investors, sending shares lower.
The markets took a beating Monday, with the Dow dropping 326 points after key manufacturing data for the United States came in way below Wall Street forecasts.
The big event happens Friday, when the government releases its monthly jobs report. Investors will be looking for signs that the U.S. economy is expanding at a healthy pace, as many economists have maintained.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries faded a bit, lifting yields to 2.62% from Monday’s 2.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices grew 90 cents to $97.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped in price by $4.80 to $1,251.40 U.S. an ounce.
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