Stocks in Canada’s largest market clung tenaciously to the gains they picked up on Wednesday, in hopes of arresting a three-session losing streak, as energy gains tried to outweigh losses in gold.
The TSX Composite Index remained above water 5.16 points to finish Wednesday at 16,897.34
The Canadian dollar vaulted 0.55 cents to 75.78 cents U.S.
Among the major losers was gold, in which Eldorado Gold slid 39 cents, or 3.6%, to $10.49, while Kinross Gold hurtled lower 28 cents, or 4.6%, to $5.78.
In consumer discretionary issues, Dollarama faded $4.19, or 8.6%, to $44.85, while Magna International lost 60 cents to $71.04.
Consumer staples were in the minus column, as Metro fell $1.01, or 1.7%, to $57.53, while Alimentation Couche-Tard flopped 88 cents, or 2%, to $42.66.
Among the issues gathering steam, MEG Energy led its energy cohorts, up 44 cents, or 8.1%, to $5.86, while rival Baytex Energy acquired nine cents, or 6.6%, to $1.45.
Tech issues were on fire, as Shopify collected $24.77, or 5.3%, to $491.19, while Sierra Wireless moved forward 24 cents, or 2.1%, to $11.89.
Industrials also had a winning day, as TFI International powered higher $1.21, or 2.9%, to $43.28, while Ballard Power hoisted 21 cents, or 2.5%, to $8.73.
As expected, the Bank of Canada Wednesday maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1.75% The Bank Rate is correspondingly 2% and the deposit rate is 1.5%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange cleared breakeven 1.38 points to 539.70
Seven of Toronto’s 12 subgroups were lower by the close, as gold faded 1.5%, consumer discretionary stocks dropped 1.4%, and consumer staples fell 1.2%.
The gainers were headed by energy, storming ahead 3%, while information technology strengthened 1.2%, and industrials were mightier 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were boosted on Wednesday by a news report from Bloomberg that said the U.S. and China were edging closer to a trade deal, leading the major averages to snap a three-day slide.
The Dow Jones Industrials popped 185.77 points, to wrap up Wednesday at 27,688.58
The S&P 500 gained 19.56 points to 3,112.76
The NASDAQ picked up 46.03 points to 8,566.67
The Bloomberg report, which cited people familiar with the talks, said the two countries were moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs that would be rolled back in a so-called phase-one trade deal. President Donald Trump also said Wednesday that trade talks were going well with China.
Shares of chipmakers and Apple rose Wednesday. Apple was up 0.9%. Nvidia moved higher 0.9% and Micron Technology traded higher by 2.4%. These stocks have been whipsawed by trade deal related headlines for the last two years.
On the data front, private payrolls rose by just 67,000 last month, according to data from ADP and Moody’s Analytics, or well below an estimate of 150,000.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising yields to 1.77% from Tuesday’s 1.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $2.25 at $58.35 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $4.20 to $1,480.20 U.S. an ounce.
