Equities in Canada’s largest market finished on the upside again on Wednesday, as cannabis concerns carried the day.
The TSX Composite Index gained 64.69 points to conclude trade on Wednesday at 17,100.57
The Canadian dollar slid 0.06 cents to 75.29 cents U.S.
Aurora Cannabis led health-care stocks upward, reaching skyward 16 cents, or 5%, to $3.37, while HEXO sparked 11 cents, or 4.1%, to $2.78.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Hudson's Bay Co., which jumped $1.12, or 12.7%, to $9.95, after Catalyst Capital Group topped the Canadian retailer's agreed deal with a consortium led by its Executive Chairman Richard Baker.
BRP gained $1.57 a share, or 2.5%, to $64.20.
Among consumer staples, Alimentation Couche-Tard surged $1.06, or 2.5%, to $44.40, while Saputo took on 78 cents, or nearly 2?%, to $40.44.
On the downside, among gold issues, Barrick Gold docked 11 cents to $22.29, while Kinross Gold fell seven cents, or 1.2%, to $5.63.
In other resource stocks, Teck Resources lost a penny to $20.99. First Majestic Silver was down 32 cents, or 2.2% to $14.05.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 2.08 points to 533.81
All but two of the 12 Toronto subgroups were higher on the day, with health-care stronger by 1.9%, consumer discretionary issues improving 1.3%, and consumer staples better 0.9%.
The two laggards were gold, nosing downward 0.3%, and materials, shrinking 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose slightly on Wednesday, building on their record-setting run after the release of stronger-than-forecast economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials strengthened 42.32 points from Tuesday’s all-time record, at 28,164
The S&P 500 added 13.11 points to 3,153.63 from Tuesday’s record.
The NASDAQ added 57.24 points to 8,705.11, improving on Tuesday’s all-time peak.
Equity markets are closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. They will return Friday for an abbreviated session.
Typically, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving has been a good day for stocks. Data from the Stock Trader’s Almanac shows the Dow has only declined 16 times in the past 66 years the day before the holiday.
The major averages have been on fire over the past month as optimism builds around U.S.-China trade talks. The Dow and S&P 500 both up more than 4% in that time while the NASDAQ is up more than 5%.
Apple and Facebook contributed to Wednesday’s gains, Apple rising 1.3% Facebook up 1.5%. Amazon traded higher by 1.2% while Netflix rose 1.1%.
Consumer discretionary was the best-performing sector in the S&P 500 ahead of Black Friday, rising 0.9% as Under Armour shares outperformed. The apparel maker’s stock jumped 6.2% after an analyst at Raymond James upgraded it to strong buy from outperform, noting the stock is "underrated" and an "underdog."
Durable goods orders rose 0.6% in October while economists expected a decline of 0.8%. Weekly jobless claims, meanwhile, fell to 213,000 from 227,000. Third-quarter GDP was revised to show growth of 2.1%. That’s up from a previous reading of 1.9%.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s summary of economic conditions — better known as the Beige Book — showed the central bank saw the economy expanding modestly between October and mid-November. "Outlooks generally remained positive with some contacts expecting the current pace of growth to continue into next year," the Beige Book said.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury docked strength, raising yields to 1.77% from Tuesday’s 1.74%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 32 cents at $58.09 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gave up $5.90 to $1,461.50 U.S. an ounce.
