Equities in Toronto kept climbing as Tuesday morning ended, as gains in energy shares powered the festivities, and as concerns around the Omicron coronavirus variant eased.
The S&P/TSX Composite surged 347.67 points, or 1.7%, to 21,208.77
The Canadian dollar gained 0.71 cents at 79.06 cents U.S.
Among energy plays, Crescent Point Energy was clearly the champ, gathering 43 cents, or 7%, to $6.57, while Birchcliff Energy gained 37 cents, or 5.8%, to $6.72.
Tech issues also moved north, with Dye & Durham rocketing $4.70, or 11.1%, to $46.95, while Viq Solutions jumping 25 cents, or 8.7%, to $3.14.
In health-care, Well Health Technologies moved skyward 35 cents, or 6.7%, to $5.59, while Organigram Holdings vaulted 13 cents, or 5.5%, to $2.50.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that Canada's merchandise exports were up 6.4% in October, while imports rose 5.3%. Canada's merchandise trade surplus widened from $1.4 billion in September to $2.1 billion in October, the largest surplus so far in 2021.
Also this morning Western University’s IVEY School of Business said its purchasing managers index jumped to 61.2 in November, up from 59.3 in October, and much higher than the 52.7 figure posted in November 2020.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange jumped 19.96 points, or 2.2%, to 917.66.
All 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, with energy growing 3.3%, information technology better by 3.2%, and health-care up 2.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks jumped for a second day, continuing their rebound from a recent rough patch, as investors grew less fearful of the potential economic impact from the new omicron coronavirus variant.
The 30-stock index roared higher 535.47 points, or 1.5%, to pause for lunch at 35,762.50
The S&P 500 index jumped 95.78 points, or 2.1%, to 4,687.27.
The NASDAQ spiked 449.47 points, or 3%, at 15,674.44.
Investors were betting that the new COVID-19 strain may cause milder illness than feared. White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that the initial data on the variant is “encouraging,” though he cautioned that more information was needed to fully understand it.
British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said new data shows its monoclonal antibodies treatment is effective in treating the omicron variant. Its shares rose 1%.
Tech stocks were in relief rally mode as investors shook off COVID fears and bought the recent dip, pulling the NASDAQ higher. Crowdstrike and Okta gained 5% while Adobe added 4%. Mega-cap tech stocks got a lift too, with Microsoft, Google, Meta Platforms and Amazon all up about 2%.
Additionally, Apple shares rose 2% as well after a call from Morgan Stanley, in which maintained its outperform rating on the stock but heightened its price target on it to $200, citing the company’s commitment to developing augmented and virtual reality technology.
Chipmakers were big winners too, with Intel leaping 3%, following news that Intel is planning to take its self-driving car unit, Mobileye, public in mid-2022. Nvidia rose 4% and AMD gained more than 3%.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys fell slightly, raising yields to 1.45% from Monday’s 1.44%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices muscled higher $3.20 to $72.69 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $3.20 to $1,788.30 U.S. an ounce.
