Equities in Canada’s main index were on the move upward on Tuesday, led by gains in energy and information technology stocks, while investors looked forward to U.S. inflation data and the Bank of Canada's (BoC) verdict on monetary policy on Wednesday.
The TSX finished the day higher by 56.11 points Tuesday to 19,878.56.
The Canadian dollar hiked 0.23 cents to 75.56 cents U.S.
The BoC's policy meeting will be on the radar as the central bank is widely expected to deliver another 25-basis-point hike on Wednesday after data last week hinted at a robust jobs market.
Among energy plays, Athabasca Oil took on 24 cents, or 8%, to $3.26, while Tamarack Valley Energy grabbed 11 cents, or 3.2%, to $3.51.
In the tech field, Dye & Durham progressed $1.21, or 6.3%, to $20.39, while Quarterhill advanced six cents, or 4.6%, to $1.38.
Health-care issues were also in the green, particularly Tilray, up four cents, or 1.8%, to $2.33, while Sienna Senior Living picked up 17 cents, or 1.5%, to $11.34.
Consumer staples, however, had something of a rough time, as Maple Leaf Foods dropped 42 cents, or 1.6%, to $25.70, while Loblaw Companies sank $1.75, or 1.5%, to $117.02.
In the industrial subgroup, GFL Environmental dipped $1.45, or 2.9%, to $49.37, while TFI International skidded $2.94, or 2%, to $145.85.
Among health-care concerns, Bausch Health Companies swooned 23 cents, or 2%, to $11.37, while Bellus Health Companies lost two cents to $19.48.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 3.07 points Tuesday afternoon to 618.06.
Eight of 12 TSX subgroups gained ground as the closing bell rang, with energy sprinting 1.1%, information technology hurtling 0.5%, and health-care haler by 0.4%.
The four laggards were weighed most by consumer staples, down 0.6%, industrials, sagging 0.4%, and consumer discretionary stocks, sliding 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrials ballooned 317.02 points to conclude Tuesday at 34,261.42.
The S&P 500 gained 29.73 points to 4,439.26.
The NASDAQ index sprang up 75.22 points to 13,760.70.
Salesforce’s stock rose nearly 4% after the company announced it would increase prices across the board in August. Activision Blizzard’s shares jumped 10.02% after a federal judge denied the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop Microsoft’s acquisition of the video game company. The decision meant that the two companies were closer to completing their deal.
Second-quarter earnings season kicks off later this week with results from “systemically important financial institutions” such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, plus BlackRock, PepsiCo and Delta Air. Dow component UnitedHealth reports Friday.
The June consumer price index report set for release Wednesday, as well as the June producer price index due out Thursday, will shed light on whether the decline in inflation has continued, and create the backdrop for future direction of interest rates.
Investors have penciled in another quarter-point increase at the Federal Reserve’s July 25-26 meeting. But they are undecided about what the central bank will do at its September meeting after last week’s continued robust jobs data raised concern that policymakers will revert to raising rates following the June pause.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were up a bit, lowering yields to 3.98% from Monday’s 4.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on $1.91 to $74.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices surged $6.60 to $1,937.60 U.S. an ounce.
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