Stocks in Canada’s largest centre finally found their way into the win column Wednesday, due largely to a resurgence in energy issues.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index vaulted 126.05 points to close Wednesday at 16,048.66, ending a spate of six straight downward sessions.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.82 cents at 77.64 cents U.S.
Shares of Suncor Energy were up 84 cents, or 1.7%, to $51.56, and Canadian Natural Resources, up 42 cents to $45.01.
Another big winner among energy gushers was MEG Energy, which jumped 52 cents, or 5.8%, to $9.39.
Among industrials, Bombardier gained 20 cents, or 4.3%, to $4.85, while CAE Inc. leaped 80 cents, or 3%, to $27.28.
In the resource sector, Cornerstone Metals spiked six cents, or 8.5%, to 77 cents, while SilverCrest Metals popped 13 cents, or 5.1%, to $2.70.
In the utilities sector, Hydro One lost half a cent to $19.57, while Fortis Inc. docked 14 cents to $41.73.
Telecoms tailed off slightly, as BCE Inc. lost 12 cents to $54.20, while Rogers Communications gave back a penny to $61.13.
The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1.25% The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1.5% and the deposit rate is 1%, however, a poll of economists says firmer price and wage inflation will prompt two increases in the second half of 2018.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said its Industrial Product Price Index increased 0.5% in April, mainly due to higher prices for energy and petroleum products.
The agency’s Raw Materials Price Index rose 0.7% in April, primarily due to higher prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture dropped 0.97 points to 767.68
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, with energy rumbling up 1.9%, while industrials gained 1.1%, and materials climbed 0.9%.
The three laggards were utilities, down 0.2%, telecoms, off 0.1%, and gold, slumping 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rebounded Wednesday as financial stocks rebounded from steep losses in the prior session and Italian credit fears eased.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 306.33 points, or 1.3%, to 24,667.78, with Boeing, Chevron and Home Depot leading the blue-chip stocks higher.
The S&P 500 gained 34.15 points, or 1.3%, to 2,724.01, as a rise in U.S. interest rates ushered financial stocks higher and a rise in oil prices provided relief to a recently battered energy sector.
The NASDAQ jumped 65.86 points to 7,462.45, amid gains in Facebook, Intel and Nvidia. Microsoft hit an all-time high above $99 per share, north of its initial public offering prices back in 1986.
On Wall Street, shares of Target rallied 3.1% after Bank of America designated the retailer as one of its top investing ideas.
Meanwhile, shares of Dick's Sporting Goods jumped 26% Wednesday after it beat first-quarter expectations and boosted its earnings forecast. The move puts Dick's on track for its best day ever.
In the prior session, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 391.64 points — or 1.6%— after Italy's prime minister over the weekend appointed former International Monetary Fund official Carlo Cottarelli as interim prime minister to help restore political order amid a swell in populist sentiment.
Chinese trade negotiations also captured Wall Street's attention Wednesday. The White House's Tuesday decision to continue to pursue action on some $50 billion worth of Chinese goods could stall talks with Beijing, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Hiring decelerated south of the border in May, with private companies adding 178,000 positions even amid other signs of a tightening jobs market, according to a report Wednesday from ADP and Moody's Analytics.
The number missed expectations of economists who had forecast 190,000. Moody's Analytics and ADP also revised its April number downward to 163,000, a decline of 41,000 from the original 204,000.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped sharply, raising yields to 2.84% from Tuesday’s 2.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up $1.63 at $68.36 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $2.50 to $1,306.60 U.S. an ounce.
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