If it’s a harbinger of things to come for 2019, Wednesday provided a wild, wild ride for investors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index – much on the order of singer Sophie Tucker’s quote, "I’ve been rich, and I’ve been poor. Rich is better” -- plumbed the depths at the beginning, eked out slight gains by lunch, and held onto 24.3 points worth of those gains by the closing bell points to finish the year’s first session at 14,347,16
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.24 cents at 73.63 U.S.
Health-care stocks led a small crop of gaining subgroups, as Aphria gathered 29 cents, or 3.7%, to $8.14, while Canopy Growth boosted itself $2.56, or 7%, to $39.17.
Energy smiled, as Canadian Natural Resources stepped forward 39 cents, or 1.2%, to $33.33, while Suncor improved 15 cents to $38.28.
Financials were also mildly positive, as RBC squired higher 15 cents to $93.59, and TD gained 42 cents to $68.28.
On the other hand, among techs, BlackBerry lost nine cents to $9.62, while Shopify parted with $2.29, or 1.2%, to $186.50.
In consumer discretionary stocks, Canada Goose shied away 38 cents to $59.30, while Magna International lost 13 cents to $61.84.
Materials were also on a down slope, with Agnico Eagle Mines off 32 cents to $54.78, while First Quantum Minerals lost 50 cents, or 4.5%, to $10.54.
Economically speaking, Canada's manufacturing sector expanded in December at the slowest pace in nearly two years as production growth faltered and export orders stagnated.
The IHS Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index (PMI), a measure of manufacturing business conditions, fell to a seasonally adjusted 53.6 last month, its lowest since January 2017, from 54.9 in November.
A reading above 50 shows growth in the sector.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange leaped 13.8 points, or 2.5%, to 571
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups stayed negative by the close, with information technology off 1.5%, and consumer discretionary and materials issues each off 1%.
The three gainers were health-care, up 5.4%, energy, better 1.2%, and financials, up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks posted slight gains on Wednesday after a volatile session kicked off 2019.
The Dow Jones Industrials Index dropped hundreds of points in the beginning, before resurfacing to gain 18.78 to close at 23,246.24,
The S&P 500 came from behind to gain 3.18 points to 2,510.03,
The NASDAQ Composite strengthened 30.66 points to 6,665.94.
At their lows of the day, the S&P 500 were both down more than 1%. Volatility was rampant in December as the S&P 500 posted its worst December since the great depression, leading to its worst year since the financial crisis in 2008.
The moves Wednesday come after a private sector survey showed manufacturing activity in the world’s second-largest economy contracted for the first time in 19 months. China’s Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for December dipped to 49.7 from 50.2 in November.
Facebook gained 3.5%, and Amazon rose 2.5%. Bank shares erased earlier losses as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase all climbed more than 1%.
Energy stocks also contributed to the move off the lows. The S&P 500 energy sector rose 2.1%, led by gains in Cabot Oil and Hess
Despite solid gains on Monday, the S&P 500 slid 6.2% and Dow was down 5.6% for 2018. Both indexes posted their biggest annual losses since 2008, when they plunged 38.5% and 33.8%, respectively. The NASDAQ lost 3.9% in 2018, its worst year in a decade, when it dropped 40%.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury eked higher, lowering yields to 2.65% from Monday’s 2.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices rebounded $1.21 to $46.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $3.20 at $1,284.50 U.S. an ounce.
