Canada's resources-heavy stock index inched higher on Tuesday, with precious metals miners and health-care stocks in the lead, while Athabasca Oil was among the top losers after a brokerage downgraded the oil explorer.
The TSX Composite regained 41.52 points to move into afternoon Tuesday at 21,983.80.
The Canadian dollar was better by 0.04 cents to 73.65 cents U.S.
Canada Goose shares were down 51 cents, or 3.2%, to $15.69, after reporting would trim about 17% of its global corporate workforce as part of efforts to rein in costs.
RBC downgraded oil explorer Athabasca Oil to "sector perform" from "outperform". Athabasca shares retreated 13 cents, or 2.4%, to $5.33.
Enbridge said it would form a venture with WhiteWater/I Squared Capital and MPLX to operate natural gas pipeline and storage assets connecting Permian Basin supplies to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Enbridge shares let go of 24 cents to $48.54.
Gaming firm Bragg Gaming missed quarterly revenue expectations and posted a net loss. Bragg shares rocketed 27 cents, or 3.8%, to $7.32.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 2.75 points to 544.15.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher midday, with health-care haler by 3.6%, while information technology and financials each improved 0.4%.
The three laggards were weighed most by energy, settling 0.4%, while real-estate and utilities inched back 0.1% each.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose slightly Tuesday, as investors tried to resume the rally that took equities to record highs after a decline in the previous session.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 87.93 points to 39,401.57.
The S&P 500 index recovered 12.69 points to 5,230.88.
The NASDAQ gained 47.53 points to 16,432.
Tuesday’s moves higher were led by shares of McCormick, up 10% following a fiscal first-quarter beat. Shares of Seagate Technology rose 11% after an upgrade to overweight at Morgan Stanley, while Krispy Kreme rallied 29% after the donut retailer announced it would expand its partnership with McDonald’s. Tesla stock was up 6% in an amazing turnaround for the electric vehicle manufacturer that has so far floundered this year.
Economic data released Tuesday showed orders for long-lasting goods in the U.S. rose by 1.4% in February, exceeding the 0.8% StreetAccount consensus.
On the other hand, March’s consumer confidence index came in lower than what economists had expected, indicating waning optimism in the U.S. economy.
Still, the major averages are on pace for their fifth straight winning month. The broad market index is up more than 2% in March. The NASDAQ Composite is toting a 1.8% advance for the period, while the Dow is up 0.8%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell a bit, raising yields to 4.26% from Monday’s 4.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped eight cents to $81.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted 50 cents to $2,197.70.
