Canadian stocks futures were up on Tuesday as investors closely watched measures taken to ease coronavirus-led lockdowns across the world.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index hiked $187.53 points, or 1.3%, to begin Tuesday at 14,829.64.
The Canadian dollar surged 0.34 cents to 71.62 cents U.S.
Floods have forced mandatory evacuations in parts of Fort McMurray, the hub for Canada’s oil sands industry, even as the province of Alberta tries to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Canadian National Railway beat analysts’ estimates for first-quarter profit on Monday driven by crude-by-rail shipments and withdrew its full-year 2020 forecast following the COVID-19 pandemic. RBC raised CN’s target price to $112.00 from $107.00. CNR shares barreled ahead $2.79, or 2.5%, to $116.70.
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on CGI to $100.00 from $116.00. CGI shares progressed 59 cents to $88.24.
RBC cut the target price on Linamar to $36.00 from $37.00. Linamar shares poked ahead seven cents to $30.37.
In corporate news, The Yield Growth Corp. announced its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jack n Jane Essentials Inc., signed a definitive agreement on April 27, with licensed producer Argentia Gold Corporation for the manufacture and distribution of Jack n Jane branded cannabis products in Canada.
The agreement includes 35 products to be launched over a two-year term. Shares in Yield Growth tailed off half a cent, or 2.9%, to 16.5 cents in the first hour of trade.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 2.04 points to 472.76.
Eight of 12 TSX subgroups gained in the first hour, with energy jumping 3.4%, consumer discretionary stocks ahead 2.6%, and financials up 2.4%.
The four laggards were led by gold, down 1.8%, materials, off 1%, and information technology, sliding 0.5%
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Tuesday as investors continued to be optimistic about the prospect of states re-opening the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average spiked 258.56 points, or 1.1%, to 24,392.34, putting it on pace for its first five-day winning streak since January.
The S&P 500 strengthened 23.39 points to 2,901.87
The NASDAQ Composite skidded 7.39 points to 8,722.78.
Shares of 3M led the Dow higher with a 4.9% jump after the company posted better-than-expected earnings. Financials and industrials led the way higher for the S&P 500, with each trading more than 2% higher.
Tuesday’s gains were kept in check, however, as shares of the so-called FANG companies declined. Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet traded lower by 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively. Amazon fell 1.2% while Netflix slid 3.1%.
A partial reopening of the economy — in Alaska, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and others — boosted investor sentiment, with certain U.S. businesses poised to benefit from the first wave of consumers emerging from the coronavirus driven quarantine.
Stocks that would benefit the most from a reopening led the market higher on Monday and were up again Tuesday. Shares of Wynn, Simon Property Group and Kohl’s were all higher by at least 1.8% after big gains on Monday. Bank stocks such as Citigroup and JPMorgan also rose more than 3% each.
Investors are also digesting the busiest week of earnings season, with 145 S&P 500 companies reporting between Monday and Friday. A quarter of the way through earnings season companies have proved the coronavirus is weighing heavy on corporate profits.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury regained some of its strength, lowering yields to 0.62% from Monday’s 0.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up 49 cents to $13.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $11.90 to $1,711.90 U.S. an ounce.
