Toronto stocks rose on Tuesday in choppy trading, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and energy stocks helped lead the market back into positive territory after an earlier reversal.
The S&P/TSX composite index shook off the cobwebs and moved forward 41.73 points, to greet noon at 13,046.31
The Canadian dollar fell 0.09 cents at 74.58 cents U.S.
Index heavyweight Valeant gyrated broadly after taking a more than 16% hit in the previous session following accusations of "massive" price increases by Democratic lawmakers in the U.S.. Shares rose 0.5% to $222.81 in late morning trading.
Energy stocks, bolstered by higher crude prices, climbed as Canadian Natural Resources rose 2.1% to $26.00, while Suncor Energy advanced 0.8% to $34.89. Enbridge Inc tempered some of the oil and gas gains, with a 1.1% loss to $49.43.
The materials sector, home to mining and other resource companies, also rose.
The consumer staples group was among the decliners, hurt in part by a 1.2% slide to $60.40 by convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard.
The economic calendar today features Statistics Canada’s industrial product price index, which came in lower by 0.3% for August, due mostly to lower prices for energy and petroleum products. The agency’s raw materials price index declined 6.6% in the same month, led by lower prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 1.79 points to 524.83
All but four of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher by noon Tuesday, as metals and mining climbed 3.4%, gold and materials each surging 1.7%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by health-care, down 1.6% consumer staples, down 1.5%, and industrials, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher Tuesday, attempting to stabilize after a sharp sell-off, as biotech stocks bounced and commodities recovered slightly.
The Dow Jones industrial average remained but 2.31 points above breakeven to 16,004.40, with 3M and Johnson & Johnson contributing the most to gains in the blue-chip index.
The S&P 500 gained 8.99 points to 1,890.76, with health-care leading seven sectors higher and consumer discretionary greatest the decliner.
Goldman Sachs cut its year-end forecast for the S&P 500 by 5% to 2,000 on Tuesday, citing a combination of the slower pace of economic activity in China and the U.S. and the fall in oil prices.
The NASDAQ index recovered 26.65 points to 4,570.62
On the economic slate stateside, S&P/Case-Shiller's 20-City Index reported a 5% rise in July, roughly in-line with analysts' estimates for a 5.1% increase.
The September U.S. consumer confidence index came in at 103.0, topping August's read of 101.3.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained slightly, lowering yields to 2.05% from Monday’s 2.10%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.01 a barrel to $45.44 U.S.
Gold prices slumped 16 cents to $1,131.79 U.S. an ounce.
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