Canada's main stock index opened higher on Tuesday as oil prices rose following strong China imports data, while consumer prices in the United States spiked, signaling a faster economic growth.
The TSX retained 18.42 points in gains to move cautiously into midday Tuesday at 19,219.70.
The Canadian dollar inched higher 0.10 cents at 79.70 cents U.S.
Air Canada, struggling with a collapse in traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reached a deal on Monday on a long-awaited aid package with the federal government that would allow it to access up to $5.9 billion in funds.
"The Maple Leaf Airline" saw its shares descend 67 cents, or 2.5%, to $26.33.
Endeavour Silver jumped 42 cents, or 6.5%, to $6.93, and Sunopta rose 29 cents, or 1.5%, to $19.18.
OrganiGram Holdings fell three cents to $3.47, while GFL Environmental was, down $1.08, or4.1%, to $42.31.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange weakened 3.33 points to 938.38.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups had worked their way into the green by noon hour, with gold heightening 1.1%, materials up 0.9%, and real-estate advancing 0.8%.
The four laggards were weighed by industrials, settling 0.8%, while consumer staples backed off 0.4%, and financials lost 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mixed on Tuesday after a March inflation report turned out not as bad as some traders feared, but the impact of a halt to the rollout of Johnson & Johnson vaccine kept optimism in check.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 115.9 points to 33,629.50.
The S&P 500 regained 5.5 points to 4,133.49, to reach a new intraday high.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 67.09 points to 13,917.09, as Apple, Amazon and Nvidia all gained at least 1%. Tesla rose 5.2%.
Reopening trades remained under pressure after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it’s recommending a pause in the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after reported cases of blood clotting.
There have been six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot after receiving the J&J vaccine, the FDA said. The administration is calling for a pause in the vaccine until Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concludes its investigation into these cases.
Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said later Tuesday that she expects the pause to last "a matter of days." More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S. J&J shares fell 2.4%.
Still, shares of companies that would be hurt the most if the vaccine rollout slows came under pressure Tuesday morning.
United Airlines stock pulled back 1.3% and American Airlines lost 2.8%. Shares of Moderna, which makes another coronavirus vaccine, jumped 7.7% following the J&J news, which was reported first by The New York Times.
Corporate news is set to pick up later in the week, with JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Delta Air Lines among the companies set to report quarterly results.
The consumer price index, one of Wall Street’s most-popular inflation gauges, rose 0.6% in March and increased 2.6% from the same period a year ago. Economists polled by Dow Jones were projecting the headline index to rise by 0.5% month over month and 2.5% year over year.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys gained ground, dropping yields to 1.66% from Monday’s 1.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired 63 cents to $60.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold picked up $11.40 to $1,744.10 U.S. an ounce.
