Stocks in Toronto found some upward momentum again Wednesday, as tech strength countered weakness in the resource sector.
The S&P/TSX Composite sprinted 95.92 points to end Wednesday at 16,309.23
The Canadian dollar gained 0.16 cents to 75.24 cents U.S.
Tech companies fared best, as Shopify leaped $17.37, or 3.5%, to $516.52, while BlackBerry added 27 cents, or 3%, to 9.43.
In the health-care field, Bausch Health tacked on $1.50, or 5.3%, to $29.81, while Aphria gained 40 cents, or 4.8%, to $8.71.
Energy stocks were on a positive footing, as Cenovus Energy jumped 40 cents, or 3.7%, to $11.35, while MEG Energy shot higher 22 cents, or 4.6%, to $4.96.
Gold stocks shrank, as Alacer Gold dropped 10 cents, or 1.8%, to $5.58, while B2Gold Corp. withered 17 cents, or 3.5%, to $4.66.
Real-estate issues were in the red, too, as Broadwalk REIT fell 37 cents to $44.87, while Allied Properties REIT skidded 28 cents to $51.81.
In the materials sector, Ivanhoe Mines surrendered 10 cents, or 2.2%, to $4.56, while Yamana Gold slid 11 cents, or 2.4%, to $4.44
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said the consumer price index rose 2.0% on a year-over-year basis in July, matching the increase in June. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, inflation increased 0.4%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 0.78 points to 575.90
Eight of 12 Toronto subgroups were in the green on the day, with information technology hiking 1.6%, health-care up 1%, and energy increasing 0.9%.
The four laggards were weighed most by gold, down 0.3%, real-estate weaker 0.2%, and materials, slouching 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Wednesday as strong quarterly results from retailers such as Target and Lowe's lifted investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average came off their highs of the day, but still gained 240.29 points to 26,260.52,
The S&P 500 recovered 23.92 points to 2,924.43
The NASDAQ climbed 71.65 points to 8,020.21
The Dow is down more than 2% in August amid worries over a possible recession. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite have both lost more than 1.5% this month.
Target shares surged more than 16% to a record after the retailer posted second-quarter results that topped analyst expectations. The company's same-store sales, a key metric for retailers, expanded by 3.4%. Analysts expected growth of 2.9%.
Lowe's jumped 10.4% on its second-quarter earnings report. CEO Marvin Ellison said the company capitalized on strong "holiday event execution and growth in Paint and our Pro business to deliver strong second quarter results."
The better-than-expected results come at a time when traders are worried about a possible U.S. economic slowdown. Those fears have led investors away from riskier assets like equities in favor of traditionally safer assets like gold and Treasurys.
Investors on Wednesday looked ahead to the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting in July as they search for any clues on monetary policy. The Fed cut rates by 25 basis points in July, while signaling that it was only a "mid-cycle adjustment" and the central bank was not returning to the stimulus era.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell back, raising yields to 1.58% from Tuesday’s 1.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices slid 20 cents to $55.93 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices forfeited $3.20 to $1,512.50 U.S. an ounce.
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