The Toronto stock market was modestly higher Tuesday afternoon as a rally in copper prices pushed mining stocks higher while traders looked at the latest assessment of the timing and magnitude of interest rates hikes.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended the day up 20.94 points at 14,299.49
The Canadian dollar gained 0.26 cents at 89.60 cents U.S.
Commodities advanced as May copper was up six cents to $3.01 U.S. a pound and the TSX base metals sector improved, on the strength of Teck Resources, which gained 76 cents, or 3.3%, to $24.18
The gold sector climbed, even as Barrick Gold handed back eight cents to $20.67, while Osisko Mining gained 16 cents, or 2.2%, to $7.41
The energy sector edged higher as Imperial Oil took on a penny to $51.19 and Suncor prospered four cents to $36.90
The tech sector was also supportive, but shares of BlackBerry lost six cents to $10.44 ahead of earnings on Friday.
Meanwhile, CBC reported Chinese computer company Lenovo was among potential buyers when the company put itself up for sale last year, but the federal government turned thumbs down on the plan.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell back 0.88 points to 1,018.26
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher on the session, with the metals and mining sector up 3.3%, while global base metals jumped 1.8%, and materials prospered 1%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by consumer staples, down 0.7%, telecoms, sliding 0.5%, and utilities, off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Confidence returned to Wall Street today. Investors shook off two days of losses as a new report showed consumer confidence reached its highest level in six years
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot higher 91.19 points to 16,367.88. The S&P 500 index was up 8.18 points to 1,865.62. The NASDAQ finished in the green 7.88 points to 4,234.27, with some "old tech" names like Cisco and IBM leading the charge.
Netflix remains one of the big talking points as it has fallen after a more than 6% rout yesterday.
In corporate news, Walgreen Co. shares gained even though the drugstore chain said that it will close 76 stores. Walgreen's also said earnings fell slightly from a year ago, but the company had positive things to say about its joint venture with European drugstore chain Alliance Boots.
Shares of Walt Disney were higher after it said it would buy Maker Studios, a leading producer and distributor of videos on YouTube. Its vast array of online channels totals 5.5 billion YouTube views per month, according to Maker, making it one of the most successful online video companies of its kind.
In addition to "old tech" stocks, another standout today was Sonic, up after the drive-in restaurant operator reported earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations.
On the down side, Carnival shares fell after the cruise company reported a first quarter loss and had a disappointing outlook for the second quarter.
U.S. consumer confidence hit a six-year high, climbing to 82.3 in March from an upwardly revised 78.3 in February.
Other economic news continues to be mixed. U.S. home prices slipped 0.1% in January reflecting the frigid winter. It was the third month that the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite index declined. But year over year, the index is up 13.2%.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries slumped, raising yields to 2.74% from Monday’s 2.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices backed off 37 cents to $99.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on 90 cents to $1,312.10 U.S. an ounce.
