Stocks in Canada’s biggest centre grabbed gains Tuesday and held onto them throughout the day, as tech concerns and resource stocks asserted themselves most avidly.
The TSX Composite Index gained 62.59 points to end Tuesday at 17,167.08
The Canadian dollar slid 0.25 cents to 76.88 cents U.S.
Techs did most of the damage today, with Shopify soaring $5.70, or 1%, to $540.74, while Constellation Software jumped $39.20, or 3.1%, to $1,326.13.
Materials were also in the winner’s circle, with First Quantum Minerals picking up 59 cents, or 4.8%, to $12.99, while Hudbay Minerals added 20 cents, or 4.1%, to $5.05.
Gold stocks gained, too, with NovaGold triumphing 57 cents, or 5.1%, to $11.83, while Eldorado Gold moved forward 46 cents, or 4.5%, to $10.68.
Among health-care issues, HEXO was pounded nine cents, or 4.7%, to $1.81, while Aurora Cannabis removed six cents, or 2.4%, to $2.40.
Energy stocks paled, too, as Arc Resources backed off 26 cents, or 3.2%, to $7.97, while Seven Generations Energy dropped 21 cents, or 2.3%, to $8.65.
Utilities also faded, as Brookfield Infra Partners LP slipped 26 cents to $65.18, while Altagas forked over a penny to $19.78.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported our Canada's merchandise exports declined 1.4% in November, while imports were down 2.4%.
As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $1.6 billion in October to $1.1 billion in November.
Elsewhere, Western University’s IVEY School of Business unveiled its Purchasing Managers’ Index report for December, which stood at 51.9, indicating that purchases were greater than the previous month.
The number is down sharply from November’s 60 reading, and also quite a way off from the figure of 59.7 for December 2018.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 3.72 points to 585.47
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground to end the day, led by information technology, up 1.3%, while materials climbed 1.2%, and gold brightened 0.9%.
The three laggards were health-care, down 0.9%, energy, fading 0.4%, and utilities, dropping 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks wavered on Tuesday as Wall Street assessed the growing geopolitical risks stemming from U.S.-Iran tensions along with better-than-expected data on the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 119.7 points to 28,583.68
The S&P 500 sank 9.1 points to 3,237.18.
The NASDAQ fell back 2.88 points to 9,068.58.
Micron jumped more than 8% while Western Digital surged 6.8% after an analyst at Cowen upgraded the stocks to outperform from market perform, citing a potential recovery in the memory chip market.
Bank of America retreated 0.7% and J.P. Morgan Chase was down 1.7%, both having been downgraded by a UBS analyst. The analyst said investors should wait for a better entry point on Bank of America. As for J.P. Morgan, the analyst noted “the bar has been raised for further outperformance.”
President Donald Trump announced last week that the U.S. had killed Iran’s top military commander in Baghdad, Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
The president also said Sunday that he could slap sanctions on Iraq, after its parliament passed a resolution calling for the government to expel foreign troops from the country.
On the data front, the Institute for Supply Management said its reading on the U.S. services sector came in at 55, slightly better than expected.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury were lower, raising yields to 1.83% from Monday’s 1.80%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 64 cents to $62.63 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $4.40 to $1,573.20 U.S. an ounce.
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