Equities in Canada’s largest market strode toward another all-time high, as good vibes from south of the border led to much upward momentum.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 33.15 points to close Wednesday at 15,643.84
The Canadian dollar muscled up 0.49 cents at 76.5 cents U.S.
Financials and health-care concerns were co-kingpins, as Manulife Financial moved skyward 37 cents, or 1.5%, to $25.38, while Bank of Montreal increased $1.01, or 1%, in price to $100.26.
Health-care stocks were also in the green, with Valeant Pharmaceuticals darting up 41 cents, or 2.3%, to $18.32, and Concordia International gained 1.5 cents to $2.69.
Information technology also shone, with BlackBerry up nine cents, or 1%, to $9.57.
Gold stocks threw some cold water on the festivities, as IAMGOLD shed 12 cents, or 2%, to $5.93, while Barrick Gold dropped 24 cents, or 1%, to $23.60.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange scaled back 7.22 points to 799.52
The 12 subgroups were evenly split, as financials and health-care stocks led gainers, picking up 0.8% each, while information technology stocks increased 0.7%
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, off 2.2%, while materials and telecoms each suffered 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed at all-time highs on Wednesday after a series of executive orders from President Donald Trump increased bullish sentiment on Wall Street, while financials outperformed.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 155.8 points to 20,068.51, breaking above 20,000 for the first time, as Boeing, Goldman Sachs and IBM contributed the most gains
The S&P 500 grew 18.3 points from Tuesday`s all-time high, to 2,298.37, with financials rising more than 1.5%
The NASDAQ composite index took on 55.38 points, or nearly 1%, from Tuesday`s all-time high to 5,656.34, with financials rising more than 1.5%
Investors also paid attention to a series of corporate quarterly results, as Dow components Boeing posted earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations. United Technologies, another Dow component, posted profit and sales figures that largely met analyst expectations.
AT&T, eBay, Qualcomm, F5 Networks, Las Vegas Sands, Vertex Pharma and Western Digital are among the major companies all due to report after the market close.
In economic news, the FHFA House Price index rose 0.5% in November. Mortgage rates, meanwhile, rose 4% last week.
Trump was expected to roll out executive orders on immigration on Wednesday, starting with steps to tighten border security, including his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell raising yields to 2.52% from Tuesday’s 2.46%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 34 cents to $52.84 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices stumbled $11.20 to $1,199.60 U.S. an ounce.
