Canada's main stock index built on upward momentum Wednesday, as tech shares moved skyward, countering the negative effect of losses in consumer staples issues.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 73.8 points to close Wednesday at 16,611.14
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.30 cents to 75.77 cents U.S.
Tech shares were led by BlackBerry, climbing 48 cents, or 5.1%, to $9.88, while Shopify was boosted $15.21, or 3.4%, to $458.19
In the health-care field, Aurora Cannabis tallied 23 cents, or 2.8%, to $8.48, while Bausch Health Companies moved up 78 cents, or 2.6%, to $30.37.
Among financials, Great-West Lifeco advanced 72 cents, or 2.4%, to $30.36, while Laurentian Bank jumped $1.06, or 2.4%, to $44.79.
Consumer staples led the laggards downward, as Loblaw lost $1.34, or 1.8%, to $72.61, and the North West Company ditched 35 cents, or 1.1%, to $31.02.
In the industrial sector, Cargojet crumpled $2.11, or 2%, to $101.17, while Aecon Group slid 29 cents, or 1.5%, to $18.52.
In real estate, Summit Industrial REIT units slackened 16 cents, or 1.3%, to $12.25.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 3.6 points to 586.16
Eight of the 12 Toronto subgroups were positive to end the session, as information technology hiked 1.6%, while health-care and financials each gained 0.8%.
The four laggards were weighed most by consumer staples, down 0.5%, while industrials, off 0.3%, and real-estate, softening 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks jumped on Wednesday as Apple outperformed, pushing the major indexes back to levels not seen since late July.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed 227.61 points to 27,137.04, posting its first six-day winning streak since June.
Wednesday’s session also marked its first close above 27,000 since July 30. The Dow is now less than 1% from its all-time high reached July 16.
The S&P 500 added 21.54 points to 3,000.93, its highest level since late July.
The NASDAQ Composite soared 85.52 points, or 1.1%, to 8,169.68, its best close since July 31.
Apple shares traded 3.2% higher after climbing more than 1% on Tuesday. The tech giant unveiled three new iPhones on Tuesday along with a new Apple Watch and a TV subscription service. Apple also showcased a gaming subscription called Apple Arcade.
Apple’s gains gave the tech sector a much-needed lift. The sector rose about 0.9% after starting the week with a 1.2% decline.
Micron Technology contributed to tech’s gains, rising 2.2% after an analyst at Longbow upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. The analyst said Micron should benefit from improving fundamentals in the memory and flash storage market.
Cisco Systems also rose 1.5% after Evercore ISI initiated the Dow member with an outperform rating.
On the data front, investors digested key inflation data. The U.S. producer price index rose 0.1% in August, while economists expected the index to remain unchanged. Investors examined the data as they look for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next move on monetary policy.
The U.S. central bank is largely expected to lower rates in a meeting next week. Market expectations for a September rate cut are at 91.2%,
Meanwhile, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, some American companies are speeding up their move away from China amid the imposition of U.S. tariffs.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slumped, raising yields back to Tuesday’s 1.74%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices dropped $1.43 to $55.97 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $4.70 to $1,503.90 U.S. an ounce.
