Stocks in Toronto stayed in positive territory midday Tuesday led by a 8.28 percent gain in Energy stocks while a surge in monthly retail sales boosted investor sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 46.53 points at 16230.19.
Retail sales in Canada surged 18.7 percent over a month earlier in May 2020, rebounding from a record 26.4 percent slump in the previous month but came in slightly worse than the market expectation of 20%. This reading followed an increase of 19.1% in April.
Canadian media company Torstar Corp said late Monday its board has recommended the proposed acquisition by private equity firm NordStar Capital, snubbing an offer of 80 Canadian cents per share in cash from Canadian Modern Media Holdings Inc.
The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.49 cents at 74.40 cents U.S.
September crude contract was up US$0.22 at US$40.81 per barrel.
August gold contract was up US$21.85 at US$1,839.88 an ounce.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 7.97 points, or 1.16% to 693.13.
Five of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green Tuesday afternoon with Energy stocks higher by 8.28%, Financials up 0.88% and Material issues ahead 0.70%.
On the downside, Tech stocks were off 2.40%, Consumer Staples issues shed 1.26 percent and Health-care stocks dipped 0.59 percent.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock-indexes were mostly higher Tuesday afternoon, with investors turning to beaten-down energy and financial stocks, as investors sifted through a number of corporate earnings reports, including quarterly results from Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 290 points, or 1.1%, at 26,967. The S&P 500 index was gaining 14 points, or 0.4%, at 3,266 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was off 24 points, or 0.2%, at 10,742.
IBM gained 0.9% after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Notably, IBM improved gross margins in three of its five units in the past quarter.
Coca-Cola said its profit fell 33% in the second quarter, but the company expressed optimism on demand as lockdown measures associated with the coronavirus were lifted. Shares rose 2.8%.
EBay Inc. said it’s selling its classified ad business to Norway’s Adevinta for $9.2 billion in cash and stock. Shares of eBay edged up 0.6%, while shares of Oslo-listed Adevinta shares were up 26%.
Sentiment was also lifted Tuesday after the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, agreed to a 750 billion euro stimulus package. The stimulus is designed to help countries and sectors in the region most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
On the economic front, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for June, a composite of 85 indicators, rose to a fresh record 4.11, marking a record high going back to 2000, from a 3.5 in May— representing a level that was raised from the previous May reading. A zero value for the index indicates the national economy is expanding at its historical trend rate of growth.
The 10-year Treasury note yield was up 0.2 basis point to 0.622%, while the 30-year bond yield edged 0.3 basis higher to 1.321%.
