Stocks in Toronto had the stage all to themselves Wednesday afternoon, but aped their American cousins in climbing to heights they haven’t seen in a while.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index popped 105.23 points to end Wednesday at 16,576.52.
The Canadian dollar tacked on 0.23 cents to 76.54 cents U.S.
Consumer staples proved the runaway winner among gaining subgroups, with Empire Company Limited screaming higher $1.19, or 3.7%, to $33.49. Meanwhile, Alimentation Couche-Tard hiked $2.42, or 2.9%, to $85.15.
Real-estate also shone, as units of Dream Office REIT soared 76 cents, or 3.2%, to $24.43, while Summit Industrial Income REIT gained 32 cents, or 2.5%, to $13.19.
Consumer discretionary issues also fared well, as Dollarama got 99 cents worth of lift, or 2.1%, to $48.75, while Spin Master Corp. collected 59 cents, or 1.6%, to $38.37.
Materials backpedaled, as New Gold lost six cents, or 4.8%, to $1.18, while OceanaGold got pummeled 10 cents, or 2.7%, to $3.55.
In communications, TELUS slipped 22 cents to $48.78, while Quebecor docked nine cents to $31.45.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada noted that exports rose 4.6% in May, while imports increased 1.0%.
Thus, this country’s merchandise trade balance with the world was in a surplus position in May for the second time since December 2016. The $762-million surplus in May followed a $1.1 billion deficit in April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange held onto gains of 0.7 points to 586.16
All but two of the 12 Toronto subgroups were in positive country by the close, with consumer staples jacking up 1.5%, real-estate 1.2% more solid, and consumer discretionary stocks listing 0.9% higher.
The two laggards were materials, dropping 0.2%, and communications, off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks closed at record highs on Wednesday as investors bet on a potential rate cut from the Federal Reserve later this month after the release of weaker-than-expected economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped 179.32 points to near the end of the session at 26,966, notching intraday and closing all-time highs.
The S&P 500 added 22.81 points as the real estate and consumer sectors powered the broad index to record levels. Tech also boosted the index, rising 0.7% to a record high at 2,995.82.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 61.14 points to 8,170.23
Wednesday’s session ended at 1 p.m. ET due to the Fourth of July holiday.
Shares of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet all rose on Wednesday
In corporate news, Tesla shares jumped more than 4% after the auto maker reported record delivery and production numbers. Meanwhile, Symantec surged 13.6% on news the company is in talks to be acquired by Broadcom. The two companies are targeting an announcement by mid-July.
Private payrolls in the U.S. increased by 102,000 in June, ADP and Moody’s Analytics said. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected growth of 135,000.
The disappointing data strengthens the Fed’s case for lowering rates at its monetary policy meeting at the end of July. Last month, the central bank opened the door to easier monetary policy by stating it will “act as appropriate” to maintain the current economic expansion.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were higher, lowering yields to 1.95%, from Tuesday’s 1.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.05 to $57.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were up $13.30 to $1,421.30 U.S. an ounce.
