The TSX held above 15,000 levels, mostly on the continuous rally in consumer staples stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index zoomed 124.05 points to close Tuesday at 15,081.26
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.12 cents to 80.01 cents U.S.
Among consumer staples, the biggest gainer among the sub-groups, Alimentation Couche-Tard spiked $1.88, or 3.8%, to $51.19.
Telecoms further added to their gains, led higher by Telus, which climbed 50 cents, or 1.2% to $42.48, after announcing a public offering of $1.75 billion in senior notes.
The energy sector followed, advancing even after Brent crude oil prices turned negative due to a recovering U.S. dollar. RMP Energy gushed 17 cents, or 6%, to $3.00, while Imperial Oil gained 84 cents, or 1.7%, to $50.53.
Miners were still in the red, despite higher gold and copper prices. Gold stocks such as Iamgold were up three cents, or 1.1%, to $2.72, while Teck Resources fell 41 cents, or 2.1%, to $19.34.
Orbite Aluminae, plunging 21.3% to 31.5 cents, was still the most heavily traded stock.
A private survey showed that China's factory sector activity fell to its lowest in 11 months in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved higher 3.64 points to 674.20
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, as consumer staples led the pack, up 2.7%, energy shot higher 1.2%, and consumer discretionary stocks gained 1.1%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by global base metals, shedding 0.9%, metals and mining, sliding 0.8%, and gold, off 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday as investors attempted to find clarity on the timing of an interest rate hike amid concerns of the dollar's impact on earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 104.90 points to 18,011.14, with Chevron the greatest laggard and McDonald's the greatest of six advancers.
The S&P 500 lost 12.86 points to 2,091.56, as utilities led all 10 sectors lower. The NASDAQ index shed 16.25 points to 4,994.73.
Facebook is in talks with media companies as it wants news content to become native feed posts so users stay within the social network, according to The New York Times.
Abiomed's miniature blood pump system that maintains heart function and circulation received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Estée Lauder was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo, citing accelerating growth in the United States and growth in emerging markets, as well as working capital improvement.
Kimberly-Clark was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo, noting a "favorable risk/reward compared to the broader staples group for what we see as an under-appreciated emerging markets growth engine."
Ross Stores announced a two-for-one stock split, to be paid in the form of a 100% stock divided on June 11 to holders as of April 22.
General Motors is investing $350 million U.S. to build its next-generation Chevrolet Cruze compact in Mexico, which is part of a previously announced $5-billion U.S. investment plan in the region.
Economically speaking, February home sales rose 7.8% to 539,000, the highest level in seven years, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in February, in line with analysts' expectations, the U.S. Labor Department said Tuesday morning; this, after dropping 0.7% the previous month.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 1.87% from Monday’s 1.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices squeezed ahead a penny to $47.46 U.S.
Gold prices moved higher by $4.90 to $1,192.60 U.S.
