Equities in Toronto clung to the gains they’d earned on Tuesday after the Victoria Day holiday Monday, bolstered by bank stocks and a surge in BlackBerry shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed buoyant 18.48 points, to finish Tuesday at 15,476.94
The Canadian dollar moved lower 0.11 cents to 73.97 cents U.S.
BlackBerry stock jumped $1.24, or 8.8%, to $15.27, as investors raised expectations that the technology company's cyber security and automotive software sectors will post strong growth, an analyst said.
This month's global "ransomware" attack, dubbed WannaCry, has raised awareness of BlackBerry's security software business, while Ford Motor said late Friday it would start using an "over the air" system to update software on its interactive touchscreen system, which runs on BlackBerry software.
The most influential mover on the index was Toronto Dominion Bank, which rose 52 cents to $63.57. Royal Bank of Canada followed, with a 51-cent advance to $93.53.
Among utilities – another of the stronger sectors – Hydro One climbed 29 cents, or 1.3%, to $23.45.
Gold, however, took a bit of a drubbing, primarily IAMGOLD, which tumbled 23 cents, or 3.8%, to $5.80, while Kinross Gold fell 10 cents, or 1.7%, to $5.64.
Among materials, Agnico Eagle Mines swooned $2.26, or 3.4%, to $64.33, while First Quantum Minerals gave back 10 cents to $12.01.
Suncor Energy fell 29 cents to $43.01, while Encana Corp declined 16 cents, or 1.1%, to $15.13.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reports wholesale trade rose 0.9% in March and surpassed the $60-billion mark for the first time.
The agency reported gains in four of seven sub-sectors, accounting for 60% of total wholesale sales, and were led by the building material and supplies sub-sector.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 3.23 points to 803.67
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split by the close, as information technology issues took on 1.1%, financials vaulted 0.8%, and utilities hiked 0.7%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, sliding 1.6%, materials, off 1%, and energy, dipping 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks closed higher on Tuesday as hope around the Trump trade was renewed among investors.
The Dow Jones Industrials Average gained 43.08 points to 20,937.91, with Goldman Sachs leading advancers and Home Depot lagging.
The S&P 500 took on 4.4 points to 2,398.42, and nearly erased the losses suffered from the biggest sell-off of the year.
The NASDAQ slid 5.09 points to 6,138.71, despite Apple slipping.
The three major indexes notched a four-day winning streak.
The president met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S. president will be in Europe for the rest of his trip.
Wall Street also paid attention to the White House's proposed budget for next year. In it, the White House is seeking to cut federal spending by $3.6 trillion over the next 10 years.
In economic news, new home sales fell 11.4% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 569,000. Economists had forecast new home sales would decrease by 1.5% to 610,000 units.
Later this week, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes from its May meeting, with investors hoping to get more clues about the central bank's plans for monetary policy.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell, raising yields to 2.29% from Monday’s 2.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 35 cents at $51.48 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dropped $9.70 at $1,251.70 U.S. an ounce.
