Stocks surged Wednesday, powered largely by financials and industrials, even as investors south of the border digested remarks made by President-Elect Donald Trump.
The S&P/TSX Composite powered ahead 61.11 to close Wednesday at 15,487.39
The Canadian dollar gathered 0.4 cents at 75.9 cents U.S.
Among financials, Royal Bank of Canada gained 92 cents, or 1%, to $93.89, while Bank of Montreal picked up $1.17, or 1.2%, to $98.85.
In the industrial sector, Bombardier marched 12 cents, or 4.9%, to $2.59, while Air Canada got lift of 64 cents or 4.7%, to $14.23.
In materials, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan gained 44 cents, or 1.8%, to $25.05, while Agrium Corporation shot up $2.73, or 2%, to $138.67.
Health-care stocks, however, got pummeled, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals lost $1.51, or 6.9%, to $20.31, while Canopy Growth Corporation lost two cents to $9.75.
Gold stocks were on the losing side Wednesday as well, as Iamgold Corporation sank 12 cents, or 2%, to $5.95, while Barrick Gold dipped 24 cents, or 1.1%, to $21.98.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 3.48 points to 790.56
Six of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the red Wednesday, with health-care moving lower 3.2%, gold tailing off 0.7%, and real-estate off 0.3%.
The five gainers were led by financials, up 0.8%, industrials and materials, each up 0.7%
Telecoms finished the day unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed higher in choppy trade on Wednesday, shrugging off a sharp decline in health-care stocks following remarks made by President-Elect Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 98.75 points to 19,954.28, with Merck leading advancers and Pfizer lagging. The blue-chips index briefly turned lower after Trump's remarks on the pharmaceutical industry.
The S&P 500 acquired 6.42 points to 2,275.32. Energy stocks led the way in the S&P, rising 1.2%.
The NASDAQ composite index added 11.83 points onto Tuesday’s all-time high, to 5,563.65
Stocks in the U.S. have rallied sharply since Trump's victory, amid hope that the incoming administration will cut corporate taxes, deregulate certain sectors and inject fiscal stimulus into the economy.
That said, some of the president-elect's tweets have raised concerns among investors. Since Nov. 8, Trump has taken to Twitter to criticize companies that planned to send jobs overseas rather than create them in the United States. He has also threatened to levy a high border tax against those firms.
Wall Street also braced itself for the start of earnings season, as banking giants JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, among others, are slated to report quarterly results on Friday.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were up a bit, lowering yields to 2.37% from Tuesday’s 2.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.51 to $52.33 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices added $5.60 to $1,191.10 U.S. an ounce.
