Canada's main stock index moved higher on Wednesday, helped by gains for health-care shares and Enbridge after the company said it would sell natural gas assets.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index forged ahead 41.56 points to close Wednesday’s trading at 16,304.72
The Canadian dollar inched down 0.03 cents at 76.05 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks led the surge, with Valeant Pharmaceuticals up 64 cents, or 2.1%, to $30.75, while Concordia International was unchanged at 26 cents.
Energy shares rose even as oil prices pared some recent gains.
Shares of Enbridge rose 56 cents, or 1.2%, to $46.95. The company would sell its western Canadian natural gas gathering and processing business to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP and its institutional partners for an enterprise value of about $4.31 billion.
Brookfield Infrastructure shares improved $1.84, or 3.7%, to $52.24
Suncor gained 69 cents, or 1.3%, to $53.99.
Kinder Morgan Canada said in a filing on Tuesday it is restarting construction in August on the Trans Mountain pipeline's expansion after halting work in the spring due to opposition from environmentalists and other groups as Canada prepares to buy the project in a bid to boost country's oil exports.
The company's shares dipped eight cents to $15.81.
The only sector going south was in consumer discretionary issues, as Magna International wobbled 74 cents, or 1%, to $76.22.
Oil prices regained 19 cents to $74.33 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices strengthened $4.60 to $1,258.10 U.S. an ounce.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 1.82 points to end Wednesday at 738.75
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups remained positive territory Wednesday, with health-care sprinting 1%, energy up 0.7%, and utilities better by 0.5%.
The lone laggard was in consumer discretionary, down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Markets in the U.S. are closed for the Fourth of July holiday
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