Canadian stocks rose for only the third time this year on Tuesday after fluctuating throughout the trading session.
The S&P/TSX composite index was off its highs of the day, but still ahead 60.07 points to close Tuesday at 12,002.24. The market had fallen into the red during the afternoon after sprinting out ahead more than 150 points during the morning.
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 68.69 cents U.S.
The rally erased a 1.1% slump Monday when the gauge fell to the lowest since June 2013. The index, which entered a bear market almost two weeks ago, has tumbled over 7% year-to-date.
Tech companies were among the day’s biggest stars, led by gains of 1.3% for Telus Corp. to $36.81, and 2.3% for Rogers Communications Inc. to $49.36.
Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. jumped 10.5% to $37.38,, headed for the most in seven years, toward a level last seen in April. U.S.-based Waste Connections Inc. agreed to buy Ontario-based Progressive Waste Tuesday, moving the tax domicile for its garbage-hauling business to Canada.
Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. gained 15.3% to $8.30, the most in two months, after an analyst at Canaccord Genuity raised the stock to buy from hold.
Yamana Gold Inc. fell 8.1% to $2.04, its fourth consecutive day of declines after Macquarie Research downgraded the stock to “neutral” from the equivalent of “buy.”
Iamgold Corp. fell 13% to $1.68, the lowest since September after the mining company cut its guidance.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that Canadian investors bought up a record $16.5 billion of foreign securities in November, most of them U.S. securities. Meanwhile, foreign investment in Canadian securities slowed to $2.6 billion, largely on lower acquisitions of Canadian bonds.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 4.7 points Tuesday to 480.37.
All but three of the 13 TSX subgroups were positive on the day, with real estate climbing 1.8%, consumer discretionaries up 1.6%, and information technology clicking 1.4%
Gold skidded 4.9%, materials fell 2.1%, and energy proved 1.6% less energetic.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed mixed Tuesday, stabilizing after a sharply lower start to the year despite pressure from a fresh decline in oil prices.
The S&P 500 held above a key technical level, its August low of 1,867.
The Dow Jones industrial average remained positive 27.94 points to 16,016.02, UnitedHealth and McDonald's contributed the most to gains, while Exxon Mobil and Chevron were the greatest weights on the index.
The S&P 500 added 6.44 points to 1,886.77, with utilities leading advancers and energy falling more than 2% as the greatest decliner.
The NASDAQ index slid 11.47 points to 4,476.95.
U.S. stock markets were closed Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Analysts also noted support for initial gains in stocks from encouraging Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and UnitedHealth earnings.
IBM and Netflix are among the firms due to report after market close.
In economic news, the NAHB housing index held steady at 60 in January, but from a downwardly revised December reading and off a recent high of 65 in October.
Also on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund cut its global economic growth forecast for 2016 to 3.4%, down from prior forecasts but up from a 3.1% forecast for 2015.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury moved lower, raising yields to 2.05% from Friday’s 2.03%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 99 cents a barrel to $28.43 U.S.
Gold prices dropped $2.25 to $1,087.43 U.S. an ounce.
