Stocks in Toronto returned to the win column with a vengeance Tuesday, with strength in health-care and tech stocks providing much of the impetus.
The S&P/TSX Composite leaped 150.04 points to close Tuesday at 21,502.55.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.03 cents at 78.53 cents U.S.
Pot stocks led the charge upward, with Aurora Cannabis surging 38 cents, or 6.9%, to $5.88, while rival Tilray took on 49 cents, or 5.7%, to $9.05.
Among industrials, Ballard Power Systems jumped $1.21, or 10.3%, to $13.02, while Lion Electric hiked 49 cents, or 4.3%, to $11.33.
Techs also had a field day, with Lightspeed growing $3.71, or 10.1%, to $40.33, while HUT 8 Mining grabbed 61 cents, or 7%, to $9.37.
Gold brought the index down, with Equinox faltering 17 cents, or 2.1%, to $7.99, while Barrick Gold slid 52 cents, or 1.9%, to $26.33.
Materials did not fare much better, with Capstone Mining skidding 26 cents, or 4%, to $6.17, while SSR Mining paled 48 cents, or 2.1%, to $22.44.
In the energy field, Suncor fade 67 cents, or 1.8%, to $37.17, while Imperial Oil dropped 64 cents, or 1.1%, to $55.63.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday activated rarely used emergency powers in an effort to end protests that have shut some U.S. border crossings and paralyzed parts of the capital.
On the economic slate, Canada Mortgage and Housing told us housing starts registered at 254,133 units in January, down from 261,352 units in December.
Elsewhere, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported home sales edged up 1% between December 2021 and January 2022. Actual (not seasonally-adjusted) monthly activity came in 10.7% below the record January in 2021.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 10.26 points, or 1.2%, to 871.67.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground by the close, with health-care haler 3.1%, information technology and industrials each booming 1.5%.
The five laggards were weighed most by gold, down 1.9%, materials, down 0.7%, and energy, off 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose for the first day in four on Tuesday after Russia appeared to be backing away from an immediate invasion of Ukraine, cooling geopolitical tensions that have knocked the stock market down the last three days.
The 30-stock index popped 422.67 points, or 1.2%, to 34,988.84, helped by a 3.7% jump in Boeing.
The S&P 500 regained 89.4 points, or 1.6% to 4,471.04.
The NASDAQ surged 348.84 points, or 2%, to 14,061.36.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had begun returning some troops to deployment bases after training exercises near the Ukrainian border.
Airline and cruise stocks led the gainers while energy companies were the biggest losers as oil prices fell. American Airlines rose 8.1% and Carnival Corp. added 6.7%. Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil fell 1.3% and ConocoPhillips lost 2%.
Certain technology names also charged higher. Netflix added 2.8% and Tesla rose 5.3%. Zoom Video rose 3.4%.
The producer price index, which measures final-demand goods and services, increased 1% for the month, against the Dow Jones estimate for 0.5%. Over the past 12 months the gauge rose an unadjusted 9.7%. Excluding food, energy and trade services, co-called core PPI increased 0.9% for the month, topping the 0.4% estimate.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys fell, raising yields to 2.05%, from Monday’s 1.99%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $3.60 to $91.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $15.70 to $1,853.70 U.S. an ounce.
