Canada's main stock index scaled an all-time high on Tuesday as energy stocks rallied on higher oil prices, while hopes of fresh U.S. economic stimulus also aided sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite catapulted 62.39 points Tuesday to start a short week at 18,522.60.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.36 cents to 78.77 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Aphria, which jumped $2.30, or 10.7%, to $23.85, and Cronos Group, which rose 50 cents, or 3.2%, to $16.06.
New Gold fell four cents to $2.23, while OceanaGold was down two cents, or $2.21.
CIBC raised the target price on Aurora Cannabis to $18.5 from $17.00. Aurora shares jumped 71 cents, or 4.5%, to $16.51.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on CAE to $34.00 from $32.00. CAE shares dropped 41 cents, or 1.3%, to $31.69.
RBC raised the target price on Constellation Software to $2,000 from $1,900. Constellation hiked $44.91, or 2.8%, to $1,658.90.
Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage on Osisko Development with a $12.00 target price. Its shares dipped eight cents to $8.81.
Statistics Canada reported Tuesday Canadian investors acquired an unprecedented $26.9 billion of foreign securities in December, largely purchases of U.S. shares.
Meanwhile, non-residents added $5.1 billion of Canadian securities to their holdings, the lowest investment in three months.
The Canadian Real Estate Association reported home sales recorded over Canadian MLS Systems climbed 2% between December 2020 and January 2021 to set another new all-time record, of 583,635 home sales this year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 26.31 points, or 2.5%, to 1,093.75.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split, health-care showing the way among gainers, surging 4.4%, while energy towered 2.9%, and information technology clicked 0.6% higher.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, falling 1%, consumer staples, faltering 0.8%, and industrials, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks on Tuesday built on already-strong February gains after a market volatility gauge fell below a key threshold, paving the way for more buying from quant funds.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 143.37 points to begin a short week at 31,601.77, an all-time high
The S&P 500 gained 14.54 points to close at 3,949.37.
The NASDAQ Composite leaped 68.73 points to 14,164.21, both hitting record highs.
Energy was the best-performing sector, rising 2.2% as a deep freeze in the South sparked a rally in oil prices and put West Texas Intermediate crude futures above $60 a barrel for the first time in over a year.
The Cboe Volatility Index, widely viewed as Wall Street’s best fear gauge, broke below 20 to settle at 19.97 on Friday, marking the first significant breach of the threshold since the pandemic-induced sell-off began in February 2020.
Tuesday’s advance added to the market’s solid gains this month thanks to the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, economic reopening and expectations for more fiscal stimulus. The Dow has gained 5.3% in February, while the S&P 500 increased 6.3%, and the NASDAQ has rallied 8.3%. The S&P 500 has raked in ten record closes in 2021.
Elsewhere, bitcoin crossed $50,000 for the first time ever Tuesday, continuing its dizzying rally as more companies warmed to the crypto space.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys stumbled sending yields higher to 1.26% from Friday’s 1.21%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 22 cents to $59.69 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $11.80 to $1,811.40.
