Stocks recovered Wednesday from the doldrums of Tuesday, in a big way, as oil prices recovered from lower prices, resulting from a glut in production.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index spiked 348.10 points, or 2.5%, to close Wednesday at 14,288.16.
The Canadian dollar regained 0.07 cents to 70.49 cents U.S.
Energy stocks were positively singing, with Secure Energy gaining 18 cents, or 20.2%, to $1.07, while Crescent Point Energy hurtling 13 cents, or 9.9%, to $1.45.
Gold also galloped, with Alamos Gold higher by $1.06, or 11.4%, to $10.40, while Torex Gold bouncing up $1.72, or 10.9%, to $17.55.
Among other resources, Pan American Silver perked $1.80, or 6.4%, to $29.88, while Wheaton Precious Metals improved $2.55, or 5.1%, to $52.18.
Real-estate issues subsided a mite, with Smart Centres REIT down 51 cents, or 2.5%, to $20.15, while First Capital REIT units falling 25 cents, or 1.8%, to $13.41.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported Canada’s consumer price index rose 0.9% on a year-over-year basis in March, down from a 2.2% increase in February. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the CPI declined 0.9% in March, following a 0.1% gain in February,
The agency’s new housing price index was up 0.3% in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange leaped 14.72 points, or 3.4%, to 452.66.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, gold and energy co-leaders, up 6.6% each, with materials surging 5.8%.
Only real-estate ended negative, down 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose for the first time in three days on Wednesday as crude prices stabilized after a record plunge while better-than-expected earnings also lifted market sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 456.94 points, or nearly 2%, to 23,475.82.
The S&P 500 picked up 62.75 points, or 2.3%, to 2,799.31.
The NASDAQ Composite surged 232.15 points, or 2.8%, to 8,495.38.
Energy stocks rose broadly amid oil’s surge. The sector gained over 3% as Halliburton closed 10.3% higher. Diamondback Energy and Noble Energy both gained more than 7%.
Chipotle Mexican Grill posted a better-than-expected profit, sending its stock up more than 12%. Snap gained 36.7% after releasing its latest quarterly results. Texas Instruments climbed over 4.8% after the chipmaker released its earnings for the previous quarter.
Overall, 84 S&P 500 companies have reported earnings. Of those companies, 67% have beaten analyst profit estimates. Still, the S&P 500 was headed for a 13.7% earnings decline on a year-over-year basis.
The West Texas Intermediate contract for June was up 19%, trading at $13.78 per barrel, after an earlier decline. Brent futures, meanwhile, were up 7.6% at $20.76 per barrel, recovering from a sharp overnight drop.
Oil’s historic drop led to a Dow decline of more than 1,000 points, or 5.1%, in two sessions. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ lost more than 4% each to start off the week.
Helping sentiment on Wednesday, Senate Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday passed a $484-billion coronavirus relief package that focused on small businesses, hospitals, and testing. The House could approve the bill as early as Thursday.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury fell back, raising yields to 0.62% from Tuesday’s 0.56%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices pointed upward $2.33 to $13.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices popped $49.70 to $1,737.50 U.S. an ounce.
