Equities in Canada’s largest centre opened at a record high on Tuesday, lifted by mining and energy stocks as precious metal and oil prices extended gains, while investors also assessed U.S. inflation data for December.
The TSX grabbed 61.63 points to open Tuesday at 32,936.33.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.13 cents to 72.05 cents U.S.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada reports in November, the total value of building permits issued in Canada decreased by $1.8 billion (-13.1%) to $12.0 billion.
Canada is also seeking to diversify trade away from its main market, the U.S., due to uncertain trade policies. Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to arrive in China on Tuesday, the first visit by a Canadian leader to the Asian nation since 2017.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 16.52 points, or 1.5%, to 1,107.89.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower in the first hour, weighed most by health-care, ailing 0.9%, industrials, off 0.8%, and financials, sliding 0.6%.
The four gainers were led by gold, shinier 0.9%, while materials and energy stocks progressed 1.7% each.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 was relatively unchanged on Tuesday as investors absorbed the latest inflation reading and studied the first earnings reports trickling in for the fourth quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 243.02 points to 49,347.08,
The much-broader index slid 7.23 points to 6,970.04
The NASDAQ poked ahead 4.07 points to 23,737.98.
Investors are also looking to corporate profits to buoy stock prices as fourth-quarter earnings reports kick off. JPMorgan Chase fell more than 1% after CFO Jeremy Barnum signaled that the banking industry could push back against President Donald Trump’s call for credit card price controls. Goldman Sachs followed JPMorgan lower, declining more than 1%.
Delta Air Lines also shed more than 1% on mixed results. Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are due to report later this week.
Stocks had received a boost earlier Tuesday after the December consumer price index report showed that core CPI — excluding food and energy — rose 0.2% on the month and 2.6% on the year, below the 0.3% and 2.8%, respectively, that economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated.
The monthly figure for headline inflation increased 0.3% in December, putting the annual rate at 2.7%. Both figures matched Dow Jones forecasts.
The CPI data came days after the December jobs report showed a somewhat weaker, yet stable, labor market, likely encouraging the Fed to hold off on interest rate cuts at their first meeting of the year later this month. Fed funds futures are pricing in two quarter point cuts this year, starting in June.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dipped slightly, lowering yields to 4.17%, from Monday’s 4.19. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices $1.85 to $61.35 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $27.90 to $4,642.60.
