Equities in Canada’s largest markets maintained gains throughout Wednesday, after robust quarterly results in some technology companies improved market sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 76.72 points to adjourn Wednesday at 15,369.43
The Canadian dollar inched forward 0.03 cents to 76.26 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks again were most prominent, as Canopy Growth vaulted $4.04, or 7.2%, to $60.18, while Bausch Health Companies expanded 35 cents, or 1%, to $35.54.
In techs, BlackBerry acquired 25 cents, or 2%, to $12.62, while Shopify bounced higher $8.94, or 4.8%, to $194.09.
Consumer staples were also green, as Restaurant Brands International garnered 66 cents to $74.63, while Metro gathered 82 cents, or nearly 2%, to $42.85.
Gold suffered Wednesday, as Goldcorp ditched seven cents to $12.23, while Kinross Gold lost two cents to $3.52.
Materials stocks in the dumps, too, as First Majestic Silver skidded 27 cents, or 3.6%, to $7.21, while Agnico Eagle Mines retreated 45 cents, or nearly 1%, to $46.81.
In the economic docket, Western University’s IVEY Purchasing Managers Index came in at 61.8, springing over the reading of 50.4 for September, but falling short of the 63.8 level for October 2017.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.83 points to end Wednesday at 672
All but two of the 12 subgroups soared Wednesday, with health-care haler by 3.5%, information technology clicking higher 2.6%, and consumer staples 1.6%, to the good.
The two laggards were gold, down 0.7%, and materials, fading 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed broadly higher on Wednesday after the midterm election results came in about as expected, lifting a cloud of uncertainty that was weighing on the market.
The Dow Jones Industrials skyrocketed 545.29 points, or 2.1%, to 26,180.30, led by gains in UnitedHealth and Apple
The Dow was up 3.7% for the year through Tuesday after an October selloff leading up the election cut into its returns.
The S&P 500 hiked 58.44 points, or 2.1%, to 2,813.89, as the health-care, tech and consumer discretionary sectors each rallied more than 2.8%
The NASDAQ gained 194.79 points, or 2.6%, to 7,570.75.
Wednesday marked the biggest post-midterms gain for both the Dow and S&P 500 since the day after the 1982 contests, when the Dow surged 4.3% and S&P tallied 3.9%.
Stocks rallied across multiple sectors, as shares of Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, Amazon and Alphabet all rose. Caterpillar is seen getting a boost from continued economic growth.
There's also some optimism the president will work with Democrats on an infrastructure plan. Vulcan Materials popped 4.5%, and United Rentals, jumped 0.9%.
Relief that Republicans held onto the Senate also helped boost stocks, as some investors feared a so-called "blue wave" clamping down on Trump's agenda.
Democrats won back the House of Representatives while Republicans retained control of the Senate, as the midterm's outcome split Congress. Investors were bullish following the result due to the belief that gridlock in Washington will help the market.
Investors expect President Donald Trump's business-friendly policies to continue, while some expressed optimism about Congress providing a larger check on Trump's more disruptive market actions, such as the trade battle with China. Historically, equity markets see strong returns when Congress is divided
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve kicked off a two-day meeting on Wednesday. Worries around the pace of interest rate hikes last month saw global markets hit with sharp bouts of volatility. Markets have been pricing in a higher probability of the Fed raising rates again in December, with further tightening seen through 2019.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sank, raising yields to 3.23% from Tuesday’s 3.22%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 56 cents to $61.65 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $1.20 an ounce to $1,227.50 U.S.
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