Equities in Canada’s largest market were in positive territory by Tuesday’s closing bell, mostly due to strong performances in the health-care and industrial fields.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced 44.02 points – off their highs of the day -- to close Tuesday at 15,619.95
The Canadian dollar docked 0.2 cents at 72.93 cents U.S.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International advanced 93 cents, or 7%, to $14.15, after its CEO told shareholders the company is on track to repay $5 billion in debt by early next year. Elsewhere in health-care, Aphria Inc. acquired nine cents, or 1.4%, to $6.63.
In the gold sector, Barrick Gold added 12 cents to $22.50, while IAMGOLD faded eight cents, or 1.5%, to $5.29.
Industrials sprang to life Tuesday, as Bombardier added 10 cents, or 4.9%, to $2.14, while Canadian National Railways gained $1.33, or 1.3%, to $101.34.
Encana docked a cent to $14.55 as higher oil and gas prices helped boost its operating profit. Cenovus Energy fell 10 cents to $13.37.
Alternative lender Home Capital Group popped 79 cents, or 11.4% to $7.75. The company's stock has plummeted since a securities regulator last month accused top executives of hiding mortgage broker fraud from investors.
However, TD Bank took some knocks, losing 57 cents to $63.70, while National Bank faded 46 cents to $52.61.
Colliers International Group shares jumped $4.84, or 7.1% to $73.44 after the commercial real-estate company posted strong first-quarter results.
Shopify advanced $7.66, or 7.2% to $113.73 after reporting a 75% jump in revenue and upping its full-year sales forecast.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 4.86 points to 796.20
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive throughout the session, as health-care gained 1.9%, while gold and industrials were each stronger by 1%
The lone naysayers were in energy, down 0.4%, and financials, down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded mostly higher on Tuesday as Apple led the NASDAQ composite to a record high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 28.36 points to close Tuesday at 20.941.82, with 3M and Visa contributing the most gains and Visa the biggest advancer.
The S&P 500 inched up 2.84 points to 2,391.17, with information technology and industrials outperforming.
The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite found its way higher by 3.76 points from Monday’s all-time peak to 6,095.37, with shares of Apple also hitting a new high, before turning lower.
Apple was set to report fiscal second-quarter earnings after the bell Tuesday. One of the key metrics investors will be watching out for in those earnings involves iPhone sales.
The tech giant makes most of its money from iPhones — and even if it meets estimates of 52 million, that's not a lot more than the 51 million it reported a year ago.
Apple's earnings have topped analyst expectations 15 of the past 16 quarters, while sales have missed just four times in the same time period, according to UBS research from April 24.
In economic news, U.S. automakers released their April sales numbers throughout the day. Toyota's U.S. auto sales fell slightly less than expected.
The number is expected to come in at an annual rate of 17.2 million, compared with March's annual rate of 16.6 million.
However, General Motors announced its sales fell 5.8% last month, more than expected. Ford's sales also declined more than expected.
Wall Street also kept an eye on the Federal Reserve, with the central bank kicking off a two-day monetary policy meeting.
The Fed, however, is not expected to shift monetary policy when their meeting concludes. Market expectations for a rate hike following this meeting are just 4.8%.
That said, investors will be looking for more clues about the Fed's plan to unwind its massive $4.5-trillion balance sheet.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained, lowering yields to 2.29% from Monday’s 2.32%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $1.22 at $47.62 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices recovered $2.30 at $1,257.80 U.S. an ounce.
