Equities in Toronto stayed defiantly positive for a second straight session on Tuesday, as gains in oil prices boosted energy stocks, while signs of slowdown in coronavirus fatalities in major economies lifted sentiment.
The TSX Composite Index came off its highs of the morning, but hung onto gains of 255.62 points, or 1.9%, at 13,848.32.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.76 cents to 71.47 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Mullen Group, which jumped 57 cents, or 14.1%, to $4.62, and oil sands company MEG Energy, which rose 30 cents, or 11.1%, to $3.01
Franco-Nevada fell $8.27, or 5.3%%, the most on the TSX, to $148.00, while the second biggest decliner was Barrick Gold, down 47 cents, or 1.6%, to $28.59.
On the economic calendar, Western University’s IVEY School of Business’ Purchasing Managers’ Index tumbled to 26.0 in March, far below the 54.1 reading in February and the 54.3 level it displayed in March 2019.
Elsewhere, a special Bank of Canada survey showed Canadian firms in the accommodation, food services and recreation sectors have already seen demand collapse during the coronavirus outbreak, while other sectors are still bracing for a looming economic hit.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 8.12 points, or 2%, to 407.31.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, with real-estate towering 4.5%, consumer discretionary, up 4.1%, and financials richer by 3.3%.
The two laggards were gold, dulling in price 0.7%, and information technology, sliding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Tuesday, building on the strong gains from the previous session, as investors grew more optimistic about a decline in new coronavirus cases.
The Dow Jones Industrials shot up 721.17 points, or 3.2%, to 23,401.16.
The S&P 500 climbed 75.11 points, or 2.9%, to 2,740.38. The S&P 500 is up 24.7% from its 52-week low set March 23 while the Dow has bounced 28% from its low.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 171.34 points, or 2.2%, to 8,084.58
Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean all surged more than 15%. United Airlines and MGM Resorts jumped more than 9% each.
Dow Inc led the 30-stock average higher with a 10.8% gain. Darden Restaurants rallied more than 12% after the restaurant company said it has not used any cash from a $750 million revolving credit agreement.
The moves higher came after a series of positive coronavirus developments from around the world.
In the U.S., the number of new cases appears to have fallen in recent days from their recent peak. Italy and Spain, two of the hardest-hit countries, are also seeing new cases fall off.
In Asia, South Korea reported less than 50 new cases of infection for the second day running. China also posted no new deaths as of April 6 for the first time since January when it started publishing daily updates.
The two Asian countries were among those which saw spikes in infection rates earlier in the outbreak, with the first cases being reported out of China.
Still, the cases in the U.S., the world’s most affected country, topped 368,000 with at least 10,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury plummeted, lifting yields to 0.78% from Monday’s 0.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 17 cents to $26.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices ditched 80 cents to $1,693.10 U.S. an ounce.
