Canada's main stock index fell on Tuesday, the last session of 2019, but with substantial gains on the year.
The TSX Composite Index lost 35.13 points to close New Year’s Eve at 17,063.43. Even so, the index sprang to life in 2019, gaining 2,740.57 points, or 19.1%.
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.48 cents to 77.04 cents U.S.
Markets will close on Wednesday for New Year’s Day.
French aeronautics group Latecoere has agreed to buy Bombardier's electrical wiring interconnection system business based in the Mexican state of Querétaro for around $50 million, the companies said. Bombardier's shares fell half a cent to $1.925.
Major gainers Tuesday included Hudsons Bay Co., which jumped $1.68, or 20.6%, to $9.85, and Ballard Power, which rose 20 cents, or 2.2%, to $9.28.
Elsewhere in the year’s final session, golds took some lumps as NovaGold shed 21 cents, or 1.8%, to $11.64, while Wesdome Gold slipped 10 cents, or 1%, to $10.14.
Elsewhere in consumer staples, Magna International plummeted 64 cents to $71.08, while Restaurant Brands International cooled 55 cents to $82.95.
Among information technology stocks, Kinaxis dumped $1.68, or 1.7%, to $99.76, while BlackBerry let go of eight cents, or 1%, to $8.31.
Health-care leaped from the rubble of Monday’s session, with Cronos Group growing $1.37, or 15.9%, to $10.01, while Canopy Growth flying $2.79, or 11.3%, to $27.30.
Among energy issues, Gran Tierra Energy surged eight cents, or 5%, to $1.68, while Secure Energy Services gained eight cents, or 1.6%, to $5.05.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 8.61 points to 577.54, a jump of 20.34 points, or 3.65%, on the year.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups listed lower on the day, as gold retreated 0.7%, while consumer staples and information technology each fell back 0.6%.
The two gainers were health-care, vaulting 5.9%, while energy improved 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose slightly on Tuesday as Wall Street wrapped up a banner year that saw equities surge to record highs, overcoming concerns about the economy and a trade fight with China.
The Dow Jones Industrials regained 76.3 points to close Tuesday, the month and the year at 28,538.44. The 30-stock index added 5,211.04, or 22.4% during the year. On Tuesday, IBM, Cisco Systems and Apple led the Dow higher.
Apple jumped 86.2% and Microsoft triumphed 55.3%, leading the way higher for stocks in 2019. They are the best-performing Dow stocks of the year and accounted for about 15% of the S&P 500's overall gains for 2019.
The S&P 500 gained 9.49 points to 3,230.78. Materials and energy were the best-performing sectors in the S&P 500, rising around 0.7% each.
Tuesday’s performance capped off a strong year for stocks. The S&P 500 was up 28.9% for 2019, its biggest one-year gain since 2013, when it rallied 29.6%.
The NASDAQ recovered 26.61 points to 8,972.60, completing a year-long rally of 35.2%, its best one-year performance in six years.
Chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices, Lam Research and KLA Corp. were the best-performing S&P 500 stocks in 2019. AMD and Lam Research both rose more than 100% for the year while KLA surged 99.1%.
Retailer Target and fast-casual dining chain Chipotle Mexican Grill also rallied more than 90% this year.
Stocks surged in 2019 despite the ongoing U.S.-China trade war as the Federal Reserve cut rates three times while consumer sentiment remained high. Trade tensions also declined in the fourth quarter after China and the U.S. agreed to sign a so-called phase-one trade deal.
President Trump said he will sign the agreement on Jan. 15 at the White House.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury nudged lower, raising yields to 1.92% from Monday’s 1.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 49 cents to $61.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $1.60 at $1,520.20 U.S. an ounce.
