Equities in Toronto aimed for the skies Wednesday.
The TSX Composite Index popped 269.82 points, or 1.2%, to close Wednesday at 22,223.67.
The Canadian dollar took on 0.22 cents to 73.33 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Lundin Mining said it completed the transaction to increase its ownership in the Chile-based Caserones copper-molybdenum mine to 70%. Shares in Lundin shares rocketed 88 cents, or 5.9%, to $15.84.
Elsewhere, Open Text shares surged 61 cents, or 1.5%, to $42.50, after the company announced a business optimization plan expected to result in the reduction of nearly 1,200 positions.
But there were plenty of gains to go around, as Calibre Mining popped 13 cents, or 7.2%, to $1.94, while Osisko Mining gathered 19 cents, or 6.4%, to $3.16.
In gold stocks, New Gold took on 18 cents, or 6.7%, to $2.88, while Wesdome Gold captured 77 cents, or 6.9%, to $11.90.
Utilities also scored well, with Brookfield Renewable up $1.63, or 4.8%, to $35.56, while Brookfield Infrastructure Partners gained $1.62, or 4.2%, to $39.80.
On the economic stage, Statistics Canada said in May, Canada's merchandise exports decreased 2.6%, while imports were down 1.6%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $1.3 billion in April to $1.9 billion in May. This represents a third consecutive monthly deficit.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange restored 9.51 points, or 1.7%, to close Wednesday at 576.27.
All 12 TSX subgroups were in the green, as materials climbed 3.4%, gold strengthened 3.3%, utilities, up 1.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 ticked higher in Wednesday’s shortened trading session as investors appeared to look past sluggish economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials deleted 23.85 points to close Wednesday at 39,308, dragged down by a drop of more than 1.5% in UnitedHealth.
The much-broader index grew 28.01 points to 5,537.02.
The NASDAQ charged ahead 159.54 points to 18,188.30, as mega-cap technology names like Tesla and Nvidia rallied.
Both S&P and NASDAQ touched fresh all-time highs in the session and were on pace for record closes.
Trading volume was muted Wednesday with the New York Stock Exchange closing early at 1 p.m. ET. The exchange will be shut on Thursday for Independence Day.
Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia jumped around 3.5%, also helping the tech-heavy NASDAQ outperform.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained lots of ground, lowering yields to 4.35% from Tuesday’s 4.43%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 32 cents at $83.13 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices strengthened $32.00 to $2,365.40
