Stocks in Canada’s largest centre continued pushing higher Tuesday, as the energy and tech fields overcame weakness in gold and other resource stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced 70.75 points to close Tuesday at 15,046.28
The Canadian dollar gained 0.03 cents to 75.34 cents U.S.
Nuvista Energy picked up four cents to $4.39, while CES Energy Solutions gained 17 cents, or 4.9%, to $3.62.
On the earnings front, Crescent Point Energy fell nine cents, or 2%, to $4.41, after the oil producer cut its 2019 capital budget by 30% compared to last year, blaming the recent decline in oil prices.
Among tech gainers, Shopify starred, picking up $6.29, or 3.2%, to $203.99, while Constellation Software leaped $10.21, or 1.1%, to $926.00
Among utilities, ATCO Ltd. took on 52 cents, or 1.3%, to $39.76, while Fortis Inc. climbed 42 cents to $45.61.
Gold companies were feeling around for the bruises, as Barrick Gold surrendered 59 cents, or 3.6%, to $15.73, while Kinross Gold backpedaled seven cents, or 1.7%, to $4.13.
First Majestic Silver Corp withered 78 cents, or 9.8%, to $7.15, after brokerage BMO downgraded the stock to "market perform". Elsewhere, Agnico Eagle Mines slumped 88 cents, or 1.7%, to $51.99.
Health-care stocks were in the red, as Canopy Growth slid $1.38, or 2.4%, to $55.07, while Aphria plunged 41 cents, or 4.4%, to $8.92.
On the economic calendar, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported this morning that national home sales fell 2.5% from November to December. Actual (not seasonally-adjusted) activity was down by 19% from one year ago.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 4.68 points to 598.24
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split by the closing bell, as energy raced ahead 1.7%, information technology was 1.6% better, and utilities strengthened 0.9%
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, down 2.1%, while materials slouched 1.1%, and health-care ducked back 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Tuesday as Netflix led a rally in tech-related names after news that it would hike its monthly membership prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average came off its highs of the afternoon, but still rallied 155.75 points to 24,065.59, as Microsoft and UnitedHealth outperformed
The S&P 500 retained 27.69 points, or 1.1%, worth of gains to 2,610.30, as the tech sector climbed 1.5%. Tuesday was also the first time since December that the S&P 500 closed above 2,600, a key level watched by traders.
The NASDAQ Composite spiked 117.92 points, or 1.7%, to 7,021.08
Stocks pared some of their gains after U.K. lawmakers voted against the Brexit plans of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, worrying investors that global economic growth could take a hit as a result.
Shares of Netflix jumped 6.5% after a report said the company it would hike prices to its monthly memberships by 13% to 18%. This would be Netflix’s biggest price hike since it launched its streaming service more than a decade ago.Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Alphabet rose more than 1% each.
Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Alphabet rose more than 2% each. Investors came into this earnings season jittery after a massive selloff in December led analysts to trim their earnings estimates for the previous quarter as well as 2019.
The major averages also got a boost as J.P. Morgan Chase rose nearly 1%, erasing earlier losses. The stock initially fell after the banking giant reported lower-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter. The miss was J.P. Morgan’s first in 15 quarters.
Wells Fargo, meanwhile, posted earnings that topped expectations. Its sales, however, fell short of estimates. The bank also said it will operate under the Federal Reserve’s growth cap for longer than expected. Other banks, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and
Morgan Stanley are scheduled to report quarterly earnings later this week.
Investors came into this earnings season jittery after a massive selloff in December led analysts to trim their earnings estimates for the previous quarter as well as 2019.
So far, only 4.75% of S&P 500 companies have posted calendar fourth-quarter earnings. Of those companies, 87.5% have topped expectations. But worries around earnings were somewhat quelled amid positive news from Netflix and out of China.
That country’s National Development and Reform Commission said on Tuesday it would aim to achieve "a good start" for the economy in the first quarter, lifting hopes of further economic stimulus.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury faded, raising yields to 2.71% from Monday’s 2.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.59 to $52.10 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $2.50 to $1,288.80 U.S. an ounce.
