Equities in Canada’s biggest centre were hovering near four-week high on as morning was about to become afternoon on Tuesday, boosted by gains in energy companies as price of Brent crude rose to a level last seen in November 2014.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced 56.22 points to move into noon hour ET Tuesday at 16,263.54
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.04 cents to 77.25 cents.
As the month-end deadline for North American trade talks nears, Canadian executives who hedge foreign exchange risk have been changing their strategies so their companies can profit from any possible swings in the Canadian dollar.
Adding to the positive sentiment, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a cautious line over talks to update NAFTA, saying he saw a possibility that Canada could build on a bilateral deal that the United States and Mexico have already agreed.
Suncor Energy crept up six cents to $51.21, while rival Canadian Natural Resources took on 10.5 cents to $42.80, and Encana rose 29 cents, or 1.7%, to $17.22, and were collectively the top boosts to the energy sector.
Providing the biggest support to materials sector was a gain of 54 cents, or 3.8%, in Barrick Gold, to $14.84, adding to Monday's rally.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Aurora Cannabis, which jumped 78 cents, or 6.4%, to $13.05, after it issued its fourth-quarter report.
Maxar Technologies fell $1.01, or 2.2%, the most on the TSX, to $44.05. The second biggest decliner was AltaGas, down 41 cents, or 1.9%, to $21.11.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 2.86 points to 711.36
All but two of the 12 subgroups were higher midday, led by health-care, gaining 2.2%, while gold brightened 2%, and materials improved 1.5%
The two laggards were utilities and consumer discretionary issues, each off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 30.98 points, to 26,593.03,
The S&P 500 eked up 2.83 points to 2,922.20. The NASDAQ regained 12.56 points to 8,005.69
President Donald Trump said at the United Nations General Assembly the U.S. "will no longer tolerate abuse" on trade. “We will not allow our workers to be victimized, our companies to be cheated and our wealth to be plundered and transferred," Trump added.
Trump's comments come after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the U.S. was prepared to move ahead on a trade deal with Mexico that excluded Canada. Lighthizer said negotiations with Canada are at an impasse.
Shares of Ford fell 0.6% and General Motors fell 1.5%, following Lighthizer's comments.
Trade fears have kept investors on edge for most of this year as they assess the potential ramifications of more protectionist policies around the world. Boeing briefly gave up its earlier gains on Tuesday, but held 0.2% higher. Caterpillar, meanwhile, traded 0.3%
The trade fears served as a counterweight to bank shares on Tuesday, which initially lifted the major indexes. Shares of Bank of America rose 0.6%, while J.P. Morgan Chase also increased 0.6%, and Citigroup gained 0.4%. Goldman Sachs advanced 0.1% while Morgan Stanley climbed 0.8%.
Facebook's stock dropped more than 1% after Instagram's co-founders left the company. Analysts at J.P. Morgan said their departure could lead to a significant pullback in the short term.
Apple shares initially fell after Qualcomm accused the tech giant of stealing secrets and giving them to Intel. The stock recovered, however, to trade 0.1% higher.
The rise in bond yields (see below) comes as the Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day monetary policy meeting, with analysts expecting the U.S. Federal Reserve to announce a quarter-point rate hike when it concludes its meeting tomorrow.
The event will be watched closely to see if the central bank provides any signals as to where monetary policy will be heading over the coming months and into next year.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury faded, raising yields to 3.10% from Monday’s 3.08%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 21 cents to $72.29 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $2.10 to $1,206.50 U.S. an ounce.
