The Toronto stock market remained higher Wednesday as investors tried to mount a relief rally after two days of punishing losses sparked by a collapse in oil prices to below $50 U.S. a barrel and worries about the effects of such a decline.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 38.23 points to close Wednesday at 14,285.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.05 cents to 84.59 cents U.S.
The TSX energy sector failed to benefit from the gain on the TSX, losing ground while oil prices stabilized for the moment.
Prices have plunged 55% since the highs of last June. Markets are dealing with an overabundance of supply, made worse by OPEC's refusal to cut production to support prices. But lower demand is also pressuring prices and there are worries that this reflects increasing weakness in the global economy.
Imperial Oil, however, gained 16 cents to finish at $47.39.
The gold sector finished in negative territory, as gold prices backed off after charging ahead the previous three sessions as investors shunned riskier assets. Barrick Gold slid 16 cents in price to $13.15.
The base metals group also declined, as March copper drifted a penny lower to $2.76 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources moved lower by two cents to $15.56.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that our exports declined 3.5% in November and imports were down 2.7%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $327 million in October to $644 million in November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 1.95 points to 683.65
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher on the day, as real-estate triumphed 2.4%, consumer staples better by 1.5%, and consumer discretionary stocks improving 1.4%.
The five laggards were weighed most by gold, down 1.4%, metals and mining descending 1%, and energy, off 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks jumped on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rebounding from a five-session dive, as U.S. crude stopped a four-day skid, concerns eased about a Greek exit from the European Union and investors offered a favorable reaction to minutes from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials screamed higher 212.88 points, or 1.2%, to 17,584.52, with Home Depot pacing blue-chip gains that extended to 26 of 30 components.
The S&P 500 added 23.29 points to 2,025.90, with health care the strongest performer and all but one of its 10 major sectors rising.
The NASDAQ index moved higher 57.73 points to 4,650.47.
Benchmark indexes retained gains of roughly 1% after the Fed release, with the December gathering of the Federal Open Market Committee indicating inflation would not have to climb from current levels for the central bank to begin raising interest rates.
Monsanto rose after the seed producer reported a lower-than-expected drop in quarterly profit; J.C. Penney rallied after the retailer reported a 3.7% gain in same-store sales for the holiday season.
American Express also gained after Goldman Sachs upgraded its shares to buy from neutral.
Economically speaking, private employers added 241,000 jobs to their payrolls in December, surpassing projections of a 226,000 gain, according to the ADP National Employment report.
The figures come two days before the U.S. Labor Department's non-farm payrolls report, with economists surveyed by Reuters looking for employment growth of 240,000 last month and a jobless rate of 5.7%.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 1.95% from Tuesday’s 1.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 83 cents per barrel to $48.76 U.S.
Gold prices declined eight dollars an ounce at $1,212.40 U.S.
