Gains in the energy sector pushed Canada's main stock index higher on Tuesday with concerns about the crisis in Ukraine offset by positive U.S. economic data.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended Tuesday up 19.49 points to 14,303.92, after an up-and-down day.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.11 cents at 91.11 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks were the most robust in Toronto today, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals leaped $3.81, or 3%, to $131.92.
Next best proved to be information technology as BlackBerry shares gained $1.05, or 1.3%, to close at $7.93.
Among energy shares, Suncor Energy rose 13 cents to $39.37, and Canadian Natural Resources added 46 cents to $43.77.
The financial sector gained as Bank of Nova Scotia climbed 27 cents to $64.63.
Gold-mining shares reflected a selloff in the price of bullion. The sector was down, with Barrick Gold losing 26 cents, or 1.3% to $20.37 and Goldcorp declining 58 cents, or 2.2%, to $26.00.
The market brushed aside news that Russia had declared Ukraine on the brink of civil war as Kiev said an "anti-terrorist operation" against pro-Moscow separatists was underway, with troops and armoured personnel carriers seen near a flashpoint eastern town.
On the economic schedule, Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales leaped 1.4% in February to $51.2 billion, the highest since July 2008, the peak reached before the last recession began.
According to figures released this morning by the Canadian Real Estate Association, national home sales rose 1% from February to March. Actual (not seasonally-adjusted) activity stood 4.9% above levels of March of last year. CREA also says the number of newly-listed homes edged up 0.5% between February and March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 3.91 points to 996.24
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were up on the day, led by health-care issues, up 1.6%, information technology stocks, up 0.7%, and consumer discretionaries, up 0.5%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by gold, down 2%, metals and mining, skidding 1.3%, and global base metals, down 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The stock market recovered somewhat from its slide Tuesday, though the technology sector was still under pressure.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 89.32 points to close Tuesday at 16,262.56
The S&P 500 recovered 12.37 points to 1,842.98, and the NASDAQ composite index grew 11.47 to 4,034.16.
There was optimism this morning as investors focused on upbeat quarterly reports from Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson.
Stocks opened higher and looked to be building on yesterday's modest gains, but the early advance evaporated and the market has been under pressure since.
Trading volume has been light this week, with many market participants taking time off for the Passover holiday. U.S. markets will be dark on Friday in honour of Good Friday. With fewer shares trading hands, the market tends to be more volatile.
Tesla, Amazon and Facebook were among the momentum stocks taking another beating Tuesday.
Meanwhile, corporate earnings are in focus this week with nine Dow companies and 10% of the S&P 500 set to release first quarter results.
Overall, earnings in the quarter are expected to fall 1.6% versus last year, according to FactSet Research.
Coke and J&J both surprised investors Tuesday, while results from Citigroup topped expectations Monday. However, JPMorgan disappointed investors last week when it reported earnings that fell short of expectations.
Google shares also fell Tuesday after announcing a major acquisition of drone maker Titan Aerospace on Monday.
In economic news, the government's Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in March, which was slightly stronger than expected. Excluding food and energy prices, the index increased 0.1%, matching expectations.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries recovered, lowering yields to 2.63% from Monday’s 2.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 52 cents to $103.53 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $23.10 to $1,304.40 U.S. an ounce.
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