Equities in Toronto maintained their gains Wednesday as 2016 dwindled down to a precious few days, on the backs of gold and materials stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite stayed positive 32.95 points to conclude Wednesday at 15,361.10
The Canadian dollar sank 0.17 cents to 73.77 cents U.S.
Markets in Toronto returned Wednesday to trading after being shuttered Monday and Tuesday for Christmas and Boxing Day.
Among miners of the shiny yellow metals, Detour Gold moved skyward $1.70, or 10.6%, to $17.70, while Barrick Gold triumphed $1.02, or 5.2%, to $20.71.
In materials, First Quantum Minerals gained 20 cents, or 1.5%, to $14.03, while Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan took on 14 cents to $24.54.
In the tech world, Constellation Software poked up $2.88 to $615.42.
Industrials were among the chief weights on Wednesday’s markets, with Canadian Pacific Railways sinking $1.02 to $192.85.
In the real-estate sector, Brookfield Asset Management backtracked 11 cents to $44.51
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange rocketed 17.81 points, or 2.5%, to 745.94
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups lower on the day, with real-estate and industrials each down 0.3%, and telecoms off 0.2%.
The five gainers were led by gold, soaring 4.7%, materials, up 3.2%, and information technology, ahead 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks held lower and the Dow Jones industrial average fell triple digits Wednesday as investors watched the elusive 20,000-point mark slowly slip away.
The Dow plummeted 111.36 points to 19,833.68, unable to avoid its second triple-digit loss since the election. Now, investors are beginning to lose hope in seeing the Dow hit 20,000 before New Year's.
The Dow opened slightly higher before turning negative. The only gainer of the group was Travelers Companies, which was up less than a 10th of a percent. On the other hand, Caterpillar and Boeing pushed the Dow down, accounting for 11 and nine points against the index, respectively.
The S&P 500 faded 18.96 points to 2,249.92, after every sector turned negative.
The NASDAQ composite index surrendered 48.89 points to 5,438.56
The Treasury Department auctioned $34 billion U.S. in five-year notes at a high yield of 2.057%, resulting in the strongest demand for those notes since November 2014. The five-year yield was 2.06% ahead of the note auction, but fell to 2.018% almost immediately afterwards.
On the data front, pending home sales fell, driving the National Association of Realtors Home Sales Index down 2.5% in November from October. Consensus forecasts called for a 0.4% increase in home sale contracts signed but not yet closed, following a 0.1% rise in October.
Oil prices opened higher Wednesday morning, close to their mid-2015 peaks. The market anticipated tighter supply and the first output cut deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers in 15 years, which is set to take effect Sunday.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note were sharply higher, lowering yields to 2.51% from Tuesday’s 2.56%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped one cent to $53.89 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained four dollars to $1,142.80 U.S. an ounce.
