Equities in Canada’s biggest market made small gains Wednesday, powered largely by energy and health-care issues.
The S&P/TSX Composite recovered 35.04 points to conclude Wednesday at 14,512.05
The Canadian dollar gained 0.24 cents to 76.51 cents U.S.
Among energy plays, EnCana climbed 45 cents, or 4.4%, to $10.70, while Baytex Energy gained 19 cents, or 3.3%, to $5.91.
In the health-care field, Valeant Pharmaceuticals gathered $1.34, or 5.3%, to $29.21, while Concordia International gained 31 cents, or 1.6%, to $19.28.
Among gold stocks, Kinross Gold docked 14 cents, or 1.9%, to $7.09, while Eldorado Gold surrendered 13 cents, or 2.4%, to $5.28.
Metals and mining stocks fell by the wayside, too, as Potash docked 10 cents to $20.67.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved backward 0.21 points to 805.18
Seven of the 13 subgroups were lower, with gold sliding 1.3%, metals and mining down 1.2%, and materials off 1%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by energy, up 2.2%, health-care, ahead 1.5%, and consumer discretionary stocks, up 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Equities south of the border closed slightly higher on Wednesday, amid a sharp rebound in oil prices, while the Dow Jones Industrials snapped a seven-day slide.
The Dow regained 41.23 points to 18,355, Goldman Sachs and Apple contributed the most gains on the Dow
The S&P 500 recovered 2.1 points to 2,159.13, led higher by financials and energy.
The NASDAQ Composite moved ahead 5.14 points to 5,142.91, as Apple rose 1%.
On the earnings front, several companies posted quarterly results before the bell, including Time Warner, which beat expectations on the bottom line. Time Warner shares were up more than 2.5%.
Companies scheduled to report quarterly results after the bell include Tesla Motors, Marathon Oil, and Herbalife.
Wall Street also digested U.S. employment data, as the ADP private payrolls report came in better than expected.
The ADP report is often used as a preview to the nationwide jobs report, which is due Friday morning.
Other data released Wednesday included the July ISM services number, which showed expansion, albeit slightly below estimates. The Markit Services PMI for July came in at 51.4, showing slight expansion. Any number below 50 indicates a contraction.
Crude prices were broadly higher Wednesday, with U.S. oil settling 3.3% higher, after the Energy Information Administration said oil inventories rose 1.4 million barrels last week. The EIA also said, however, the number of gasoline barrels fell last week. West Texas Intermediate futures settled below $40.00 U.S. for the first time since April on Tuesday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.54% from Tuesday’s 1.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.58 a barrel to $41.09 U.S.
Gold prices dropped $8.20 to $1,364.40 U.S. an ounce.
