Investors hearkened to word from the Bank of Canada Wednesday that it was joining its counterparts throughout the world and lowering interest rates, sending stocks in this country skyward once again.
The TSX Composite Index hiked 355.91 points, or 2.2%, to finish Wednesday at 16,779.53
The Canadian dollar stumbled 0.06 cents to 74.68 cents U.S.
Tech stocks were all the rage Wednesday, with Lightspeed POS jumping $2.08, or 6.6%, to $33.66, while Shopify gathered $38.97, or 6.1%, to $676.62.
Utilities also shone, with ATCO picking up $3.03, or 5.9%, to $54.27, while Canadian Utilities hiked $2.16, to 5.3%, to $42.75.
Among real-estate concerns, Interrent REIT leaped 86 cents, or 4.8%, to $18.71, while Cominar REIT took on 69 cents, or 4.8%, to $14.98.
The Bank of Canada today lowered its target for the overnight rate by 50 basis points to 1.25%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1.5% and the deposit rate is 1%. Economists had expressed the opinion that a rate cut was in the offing.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange perked 8.59 points, or 1.7%, to 525.74.
All 12 TSX subgroups remained in the green by the closing bell, as information technology surged 3.5%, utilities, growing 3.3%, and real-estate zooming 3.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks surged on Wednesday as major victories from former Vice President Joe Biden during Super Tuesday sparked a massive rally within the health-care sector.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 1,173.45 points, or 4.5%, to conclude Wednesday at 27,090.86.
The broader S&P 500 gained 126.75 points, or 4.2%, to 3,130.12
The NASDAQ surged 334 points, or 3.9%, to 9,018.09.
Tuesday’s primary results sent health-care stocks flying. The S&P health care sector surged 5.8%, posting its best day since 2008. UnitedHealth popped 10.7% and Centene jumped 15.5%. Shares of UnitedHealth had their biggest one-day gain since 2008.
With Wednesday’s rally, all three major averages are on pace to move out of correction territory, or less than 10% down from their 52-week highs. The tech-heavy NASDAQ also posted a slight gain on the year, up 0.5%.
The major averages also got a boost from strong economic data. The U.S. services sector expanded at a faster-than-expected pace in February, data from the Institute for Supply Management showed. ADP and Moody’s Analytics said private payrolls jumped by 183,000 last month, topping expectations.
The Fed’s “Beige Book” report on Wednesday showed the U.S. economic activity expanded at a “modest to moderate” rate over the past week, citing coronavirus as a risk to the outlook.
Back to Biden, the former "Veep" scored key primary victories in Virginia, North Carolina, and Arkansas, giving his campaign momentum and increasing his odds of being the Democratic party’s presidential nominee.
So far, media outlets project Biden’s delegate total at 453, ahead of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ total of 373. To win the nomination, a Democratic candidate must receive support from a majority of pledged delegates — at least 1,991 of the total 3,979 pledged delegates.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury slumped, raising yields to 1.04% from Tuesday’s 1.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices retreated 10 cents to $47.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $5.70 to $1,638.70 U.S. an ounce.
