Equities in Canada’s largest centre made their way doggedly into plus territory by the end of Wednesday’s session, as huge gains in cannabis and energy concerns overrode doddering performances in real-estate and techs.
The S&P/TSX Composite fought its way higher by 41.42 Wednesday’s closing bell, to 17,915.91.
The Canadian dollar edged higher 0.02 cents to 78.23 cents U.S.
Aphria led the attack, gaining $2.32, or 12.3%, to $21.18, while Cronos Group gained $1.13, or 7.8%, to $15.64.
In energy stocks, MEG Energy gathered 55 cents, or 12%, to $5.15, while Vermilion Energy grabbed 34 cents, or 5.8%, to $6.24.
Consumer discretionary issues also had their day, with Magna International burrowed ahead $3.52, or 3.8%, to $97.36, while Linamar picked up $1.39, or 2%, to $69.94.
Real-estate stocks tipped the balance the other way, as Summit Industrial REIT units backed off 39 cents, or 2.8%, to $13.52, while First Service Corp. lost $4.13, or 2.3%, to $177.99.
In the tech sector, Constellation Software dipped $53.04, or 3.2%, to $1,612.33, while Enghouse Systems demurred 81 cents, or 1.3%, to $60.75.
In industrial stocks, New Flyer lost $1.10, or 3.5%, to $30.67, while Boyd Group Services gave back $8.63, or 3.6%, to $231.62.
Canada has signed its first deal to allow a foreign coronavirus vaccine to be manufactured domestically, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday as new cases began to drop steadily.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange leaped 15.53 points, or 1.6%, to 978.94.
Six of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative, as real-estate and information technology each shed 1%, while industrials dipped 0.6%.
The five gainers were led by health-care, popping 5%, energy, improving 3.3%, and consumer discretionary issues, up 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 climbed slightly on Wednesday, rising for a third straight day as investors digested a wave of corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials forged higher 36.12 points to conclude business Wednesday at 30,723.60,
The broader index took on 3.86 points to 3,830.17, supported by energy and communication services.
The NASDAQ Composite ducked back 2.23 points to 13,610.54, amid a drop in Amazon shares.
Shares of Google’s parent Alphabet jumped 7.3% after the technology giant reported 23% revenue growth and topped estimates for earnings, boosted by Google’s recovering advertising business.
Amazon reported earnings that nearly doubled Wall Street estimates, while delivering its biggest revenue of all time at $125.56 billion, pushing it past the symbolic $100-billion mark for the first time. The ecommerce leader also announced that Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO. Amazon’s stock fell 2%.
Amgen fell 1.4% after the biotech firm issued a weaker-than-expected full year outlook, noting that the pandemic would continue to hurt sales. Amgen was the biggest loser in the blue-chip Dow.
Earnings season continues on Wednesday with chipmaker Qualcomm, eBay, PayPal and Yum China reporting after the closing bell.
Wall Street was coming off a back-to-back rally as the Reddit-fueled retail trading frenzy dissipated, restoring investor confidence on the broader market. The 30-stock Dow is up over 2% this week after posting its best day since November on Tuesday. The S&P 500 has climbed more than 3% this week, while the NASDAQ has jumped more than 4%.
After a meteoric, albeit seemingly synthetic rise in GameStop last week caused by a short squeeze, shares have cratered more than 70% this week. Other Reddit trades have also come back down to Earth amid trading restrictions from major brokers. However, GameStop lost 2.7% in volatile trading on Wednesday.
Investors are also monitoring negotiations in Washington surrounding another stimulus package. President Joe Biden met with the 10 Republican senators on Monday to discuss an alternative, smaller aid proposal to his $1.9-trillion package.
On the data front, private firms added 174,000 jobs in January, above the 50,000 Dow Jones estimate, according to a report Wednesday from payroll processing firm ADP.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys fell, raising yields to 1.14% from Tuesday’s 1.10%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices advanced $1.04 to $55.80 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recouped $1.20 to $1,834.60 U.S. an ounce.
