Canadian stocks ended their longest losing streak since 2002 with a late rally on Tuesday, despite crude plunging to near $30 U.S. a barrel in New York.
The S&P/TSX composite index recovered from a somewhat negative flow in the early afternoon, to gather 54.65 points by the close to 12,373.90, to curtail a nine-session losing streak.
Still, the index registered both gains and losses of more than 1% during the session.
The Canadian dollar sank 0.21 cents to 70.13 cents U.S.
Gold and other resources companies took body blows Tuesday.
Eldorado Gold Corp. dropped 83 cents, or 19%, to $3.53, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. fell 81 cents, or 3.1%, to fall to $25.00, to lead resource equities lower as a Bloomberg gauge of global commodities prices sank to the lowest since at least 1991.
Other notable companies to decline included First Quantum Minerals Ltd, down 34 cents, or 8.9% to $3.50, and MEG Energy Corp. down 62 cents, 9.9% to $5.65.
Telecoms, however, did extremely well, mostly, BCE, which climbed $1.11, or 2%, to $55.70, while rival TELUS took on 40 cents, or 1.1%., to $37.80.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted seven points, or 1.4%, to 500.32.
Seven of the 13 TSX subgroups regained positive territory by the close, led by telecoms, up 1.5%, information technology, ahead 1.3%, and consumer discretionaries, picking up 0.8%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by metals and mining, sliding 5.6%, while gold and materials each skidded 1.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks across the border bolted higher Tuesday, recovering from a sharply lower start to the year and shaking off pressure from an intraday dip in oil below $30 a barrel.
The Dow Jones industrial average improved 117.65 points to close at 16,516.22, with UnitedHealth leading advancers and DuPont the greatest laggard.
The S&P 500 recovered 16.35 points to 1,940.02, with consumer discretionary leading four sectors higher and energy the greatest decliner.
The NASDAQ index finished positive 47.93 points, or 1%, to 4,685.92, as Apple progressed more than 1%. It ends an eight-session losing streak for the tech-heavy index.
Oil prices remained near their lowest in more than a decade as oversupply concerns persisted. Analysts at several major firms cut their 2016 oil forecasts this week, with Standard Chartered saying oil could fall as low as $10 U.S. per barrel.
Copper also traded lower, approaching near seven-year lows. The decline pressured Freeport-McMoRan, which extended Monday's 20% plunge with a drop of more than 10% in midday trade.
Freeport shares fell Monday amid declines in copper and news Arch Coal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as part of a restructuring agreement reached with lenders who hold more than $4.5 billion U.S. of the coal mining company's debt.
Alcoa traded more than 9% lower in afternoon trade, after reporting earnings that beat expectations but revenue slightly below forecasts.
The aluminum producer unofficially kicked of earnings season with its report after the close Monday. CSX is schedule to post results after the close and major financial firms are due to report Thursday.
Economically speaking, the November Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS for short) showed 5.431 million openings. The November quits rate was 2% unchanged from the mildly upwardly revised October rate.
Overnight, the Chinese central bank set the yuan mid-point fix at 6.5628 against the U.S. dollar, similar to Monday's fix of 6.5626.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury moved up, lowering yields to 2.12% from Friday’s 2.17%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices erased 85 cents a barrel to $30.56 U.S.
Gold prices dropped $4.60 to $1,089.60 U.S. an ounce.
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