Canada's benchmark stock index accelerated by noon EDT on Tuesday, with utilities leading gains, as a pullback in global bond yields and easing oil prices supported sentiment, although weakness in energy and mining shares capped advances.
The TSX Composite Index gained 217.52 points to break for lunch Tuesday at 35,736.07
The Canadian dollar rose 0.24 cents to 70.34 cents U.S.
Emera said it would acquire Canadian Utilities in an all-stock deal worth $14.3 billion, creating one of Canada's largest utilities. Canadian Utilities dipped 16 cents to $51.03.
Emera fell $1.71, or 2.5%, to $66.59, while Canadian Utilities retreated 18 cents to $51.02. ATCO sprinted $7.78, or 10.5%, to $81.96 after saying it would spin off into a standalone publicly traded industrial services company called New ATCO.
Jamieson Wellness received final court approval for its pending acquisition by Kirin Holdings.
Jamieson shares handed over four cents to $45.44.
On the political front, the separatist Parti Quebecois narrowly won Quebec's election on Monday, a result that could make it tougher for Prime Minister Mark Carney to maintain national unity amid a trade deal dispute with the U.S.
On the economic landscape, Canada's merchandise exports rose 2.5% in August, while imports were down 2.0%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the world widened from $787 million in July to $4.2 billion in August. This was the sixth consecutive monthly trade surplus.
The IVEY Purchasing Managers Index decreased to 58.2 in September from 64.3 in August.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 6.79 points to 885.37
All but three of the 12 subgroups were in the green, with utilities ahead 0.9%, which telecoms and real-estate were each peppier by 0.8%.
The three laggards were consumer staples, down 0.6%, while energy stocks fell 0.3%, and industrials backtracked 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose to a fresh all-time intraday high on Tuesday, boosted by gains in key technology names as well as declines in oil prices and Treasury yields.
The Dow Jones Industrials charged ahead 360.98 points to 51,628.88
The broader index gained 64.53 points to 7,838.48
The NASDAQ Composite popped 209.82 points to 27,687.13, and had hit a new all-time high.
The moves higher were bolstered by a rise in chipmakers. Shares of Marvell Technology popped 7%, while others such as Nvidia and Broadcom traded up around 1% each.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury advanced, lowering yields up to 5.27% from Monday’s 5.31%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices eased 64 cents to $88.79 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices grabbed $36.40 to $4,192.80 U.S. an ounce.
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