If investors felt genuine terror at the prospect of a yield-curve-induced recession south of the border, they successfully kept that fear under their hats Wednesday, and went buying stocks up by session’s end.
The S&P/TSX Composite popped 88.06 points to close mid-week Wednesday at 16,271.65
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.12 cents to 75.15 cents U.S.
Energy fueled the surge in stocks, as Kelt Exploration leaped 25 cents, or 10%, to $2.75, while MEG Energy traveled higher 43 cents, or 9.9%, to $4.78.
Cineplex led the crop of communications stocks that soared, picking up 38 cents, or 1.6%, to $24.77, while BCE climbed 91 cents, or 1.5%, to $62.45
Real-estate also came out in the green, as units of Brookfield Property Partners leaped 38 cents, or 1.5%, to $25.59, while Artis REIT gained 16 cents, or 1.3%, to $12.34.
Tech shares weighed most heavily on the stocks that were losing ground, as Shopify tumbled $15.03, or 2.8%, to $526.46, while Kinaxis swooned two dollars, or 2.6%, to $75.86.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 0.18 points to 583.82
All but two of the 12 Toronto subgroups stayed positive, with energy roaring ahead 3%, communications better by 0.8%, and real-estate marching up 0.7%.
The pair of laggards consisted of information technology, stumbling 0.9%, and industrials, which let go of 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Wednesday as the energy sector got a lift from higher oil prices, but sentiment was kept in check with a key part of the U.S. yield curve inverting even further, exacerbating fears of an impending recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved skyward 258.2 points, or 1%, to close Wednesday at 26,036.10. Chevron – which rose 0.8% -- and Exxon Mobil – up 0.7% -- contributed a good deal to the Dow’s gains.
The S&P 500 grew 18.78 points to 2,887.94, led by an 8% surge in Cimarex Energy, as U.S. crude prices surged more than 2%. Oil jumped after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude inventories plummeted by 10 million barrels last week.
The NASDAQ recovered 29.94 points to 7,856.88
Still, worries over trade and the economy have pushed down stocks this month. The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ were all down at least 3% for the month through Wednesday’s close.
Consumer stocks scored as Tiffany was up 3%, and Kohl’s improved 3.4%, Tiffany posted quarterly earnings that beat analyst expectations.
The closely watched spread between the 10-year Treasury yield and the two-year rate briefly fell to negative six basis points Wednesday.
The move extended losses from the previous session when the spread registered its lowest level since 2007.
A 10-year rate below the two-year yield is viewed by fixed income traders as an important recession prognosticator, marking an unusual phenomenon as bondholders receive better compensation in the short term.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained a mite, lowering yields to 1.47% from Tuesday’s 1.48%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gained 99 cents to $55.92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted $3.70 to $1,548.10 U.S. an ounce.
