Canada’s main stock index rose on Tuesday, helped by upbeat manufacturing data and as tech shares improved and energy shares rose alongside oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 71.7 points to greet noon at 15,372.08
The Canadian dollar edged higher 0.06 cents to 79.63 cents U.S.
The technology sector gained, helped by Shopify’s near 4% increase.
Also helping was Open Text’s 3.5% rise after activist hedge fund Blue Harbour Group LP CEO said the business information management software company could be acquired.
Shares of Enbridge Inc rose 1.7% and was the biggest boost to the energy and overall TSX indexes
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Alaris Royalty, which rose 5.3%, while the largest decliner was Aphria Inc, down 3.4%.
Among the most active Canadian stocks by volume were Aurora Cannabis, Aphria Inc and Canopy Growth Co.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales increased 1.9% to $55.8 billion in February, following two consecutive monthly decreases. The growth was due mainly to higher sales in the transportation equipment industry.
Elsewhere, foreign investment in Canadian securities totaled $4.0 billion in February, down from $5.6 billion in January. Meanwhile, Canadian investment in foreign securities slowed to $6.3 billion, following two months of strong acquisitions.
Also helping sentiment was improved prospects of a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexico’s economy minister said, barring some "tiny details," work was finished on chapters including telecoms, energy and technical barriers to trade.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 3.46 points to 798.5
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher midday, with information technology popped 2.4%, while energy gushed 0.7%, and materials improved 0.6%
Among the laggardsm health-care dropped 1.4%, consumer staples sagged 0.3%, and telecoms lost 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded sharply higher on Tuesday as investor sentiment was boosted by strong results from some of the biggest U.S. companies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average vaulted 256.05 points, or 1%, to 24,829.09, with UnitedHealth as the best-performing stock in the index.
The S&P 500 strengthened 28.67 points, or 1.1%, to 2,706.51, as consumer discretionary and tech gained more than 1% each.
The NASDAQ Composite index gained 119.14 points, or 1.7%, to 7,276, as shares of Netflix jumped 8.1%.
Netflix was the biggest mover in the S&P 500 after reporting in-line quarterly earnings and higher-than-expected subscriber growth.
UnitedHealth shares rose 4% after it reported better-than-expected earnings and raised its outlook for 2018.
Goldman Sachs reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter, boosted by a 38% jump in equities trading revenue. Johnson & Johnson posted a profit that surpassed estimates, boosted by a strong performance by its pharmaceuticals segment.
IBM, CSX and United Continental are among the companies set to report Tuesday after the close.
Wall Street has high expectations for this earnings season, with analysts expecting a 17.3% increase in first-quarter earnings
On the economic data front, housing starts rebounded in March, totaling 1.319 million versus estimates of 1.262 million.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sagged, raising yields to 2.84% from Monday’s 2.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were down 31 cents a barrel to $65.91 U.S.
Gold prices slid $6.80 to $1,343.90 U.S. an ounce.
