Stocks in Canada’s biggest market gathered steam midday Tuesday, helped by gains for financials and consumer names, while gold miners weighed and the energy group was unimpressed by a tentative production deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was ahead 110.03 points by noon to 12,491.27.
The most influential movers on the index included Element Financial Corp, which rose 4.9% to $13.10 a share after it said it will split its fleet management business and its vendor and commercial financing business, creating two publicly traded companies.
Among consumer stocks, Restaurant Brands International Inc, the owner of Burger King and the Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut chain, jumped 5.7% to $46.81 after its earnings beat expectations.
Barrick Gold Corp declined 3% to $16.44, Goldcorp Inc fell 4.7% to $20.7, and Yamana Gold was down 2.4% to $3.62.
The energy group edged higher after Russia and Saudi Arabia dashed expectations of an outright supply cut by agreeing only to freeze output at January levels if other big exporters joined them.
Shares in Cenovus Energy Inc slipped 0.5% to $14.44 after the oil producer said it may sell up to $5 billion in stock, debt or other securities as it looks to shore up its balance sheet amid a slump in oil prices.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales increased 1.2% to $51.6 billion in December, their second straight gain.
In December, sales increased in the motor vehicle and wood products industries, representing over half of the national gain.
Elsewhere, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported national home sales edged up by 0.5% from December to January. Actual (not seasonally-adjusted) activity was up 8% compared to January 2015. The number of newly listed homes retreated by 4.9% from December to January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 0.42 points to 511.56
All but two of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher by midday, as metals and mining bolted 5.5%, while consumer discretionaries and information technology each soared 1.8%.
The two laggards were gold, down 3.1%, and materials, sliding 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher Tuesday, attempting to stabilize on the first trading day of the holiday-shortened week as investors eyed oil prices and financial stocks.
The Dow Jones industrial average sprinted 163.16 points, or 1%, by midday to 16,137. Boeing contributed the most to gains, while
Exxon Mobil and Chevron were among the greatest weights on the index.
The S&P 500 leaped 24.33 points, or 1.3%, to 1,889.11, as consumer discretionary names led advancers.
The NASDAQ index spiked 74.86 points, or 1.7%, to 4,412.38, helped by gains in Apple, biotechs and semiconductor stocks.
Alibaba has bought a 5.6% stake in Groupon and become the fourth-largest shareholder of the daily deals and e-commerce website.
In economic news, the U.S. Empire Manufacturing Index for February came in at negative 16.64, a worse read than expected but better than January's print of minus 19.37.
Homebuilder sentiment in February declined to 58.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dipped, raising yields to 1.78% from Friday’s 1.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded 26 cents a barrel to $29.18 U.S.
Gold prices regained $1.10 to $1,210.40 U.S. an ounce.
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