Equity markets in Toronto were off their highs of the day, but still finished well above water, with health-care the main agent of this climb.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 45.61 points to close Tuesday at 14,801.23
The Canadian dollar gained 0.19 cents to 76.19 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks proved the stars of the show, primarily Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which jumped $7.41, or 25.1%, to $36.92, while
Concordia International progressed 48 cents, or 2.2%, to $22.30.
Consumer staples also surged, most notably Metro, which gained 31 cents to $47.36, and Loblaw, which gained 69 cents, or nearly 1%, to $73.67.
Among telecoms, BCE gained 33 cents to $63.17, and Telus gained 31 cents to $43.81.
On the economic scene, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of housing starts declined to 198,395 in July, down from a revised 218,326 in June. Economists had forecast 195,000 starts in July.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 8.01 points, or 1%, to 823.57
Nine of the 13 subgroups were higher, with health-care soaring 6.1%, consumer staples stronger by 0.9%, and telecoms, moving 0.6% higher
The four laggards were weighed most by real-estate, down 0.8%, utilities, settling 0.6%, and the metals and mining group, off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks ended slightly higher, with the NASDAQ posting a fresh record close, as investors kept an eye on falling oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained higher 3.76 points, to 18,533.05, well off session highs, with Walt Disney contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 eked up 0.85 points to 2,181.74, with energy leading six sectors lower and consumer staples leading advancers.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 12.34 points to 5,225.48
In corporate news, luxury-goods maker Coach posted mixed quarterly results, missing expectations on revenue, but with profits coming in better than expected. Embattled drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, missed Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom line.
Delta Air Lines, meanwhile, is issuing refunds for canceled flights as well as $200 U.S. travel vouchers for certain passengers.
Later this week, department store retailers Macy's and Nordstrom will be posting quarterly results.
On the economic data front, second-quarter U.S. productivity fell unexpectedly by 0.5%. Economists expected a gain of 0.4%
Wholesale inventories for June rose 0.3%, with economists expecting and unchanged reading.
OPEC said Monday an "informal meeting" between member countries will take place on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria next month.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.54% from Monday’s 1.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 30 cents a barrel to $42.72 U.S.
Gold prices improved $5.20 to $1,346.50 U.S. an ounce.
