Stocks in Toronto added to Monday’s momentum, and gained mightily Tuesday, mostly in health-care and industrial stock strength.
The S&P/TSX Composite leaped 182.04 points, or 1%, to end Tuesday at 17,874.49.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.31 cents to 78.13 cents U.S.
Cannabis stocks enjoyed the festivities the most, with Aurora Cannabis taking on $1.88, or 13.1%, to $16.29, and Aphria advancing $2.67, or 16.5%, to $18.68.
Among industrial concerns, New Flyer popped $2.47, or 8.4%, to $31.75, while Stantec added $2.85, or 6.1%, to $49.78.
In consumer discretionary stocks, Martinrea International climbed 63 cents, or 4.5%, to $14.68, while BRP Inc. advanced $3.21, or 3.7%, to $90.93.
Materials let the side down, however, with First Majestic Silver dropping $7.09, or 24.9%, to $21.41, while Fortuna Silver Mines shedding $1.85, or 15.8%, to $9.88.
Gold stocks were also deflated, with Alamos Gold slipping 36 cents, or 3.4%, to $10.11, while Eldorado Gold subsiding 39 cents, or 2.6%, to $14.48.
In consumer staples, Jamieson Wellness doffed 77 cents, or 2.1%, to $36.11, while Maple Leaf Foods docking 35 cents, or 1.4%, to $25.00.
Canadian house prices will continue their upwards march this year, outpacing inflation after hitting record highs in 2020, according to a Reuters poll of property market analysts who said the risk of a COVID-19 resurgence derailing activity was low.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 2.57 points to 963.41.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground Tuesday, with health-care sprinting 5.5%, industrials up 2.6%, and consumer discretionary stocks better by 1.5%.
The three laggards were materials, down 3.1%, gold off 2.6%, and consumer staples, inching back 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks jumped on Tuesday, building on a strong rally in the previous session as concerns about a speculative retail trading frenzy continued to ease.
The Dow Jones Industrials hurtled 477.75 points, or 1.6%, to 30,687.48, for their best daily performance since November.
The S&P 500 gained 52.45 points, or 1.4%, to 3,826.31, pushing its two-day rally to 3%.
The NASDAQ rose 209.38 points, or 1.6%, to 13,612.78, bringing its week-to-date gains to more than 4%.
The back-to-back advance in the broader market coincided with a sharp reversal in GameStop, the video game stock that captivated Wall Street with its massive short squeeze coordinated by a band of retail investors on social media. GameStop, fresh off a 400% rise last week, fell another 60% Tuesday. The stock has lost more than 70% of its value since Friday.
Other highly speculative investments popular with the Reddit crowd also started to decline. AMC Entertainment dropped more than 41%. Futures contracts for silver, which enjoyed their biggest one-day jump in 11 years Monday, slid more than 10% Tuesday for its worst day since August.
Investors took it as a sign that the speculative mania from retail traders is unwinding, which is healthy for the overall market and investor confidence. The stock market suffered its worst week since October last week as many grew worried that the wild trading activity in those heavily shorted names could be contagious and spill over to other areas of the markets.
Investors also awaited big earnings reports Tuesday, with tech giants Amazon and Alphabet set to release quarterly numbers after the market close.
Investors will also be following stimulus negotiations in Washington, where congressional Republicans made a counteroffer to President Joe Biden’s $1.9-trillion stimulus plan on Sunday.
Biden met with those lawmakers on Monday as congressional Democrats moved toward passing a reconciliation bill without bipartisan support. White House press secretary Jen Psaki described the meeting as “substantive and productive.”
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys stumbled, raising yields to 1.1% from Monday’s 1.07%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices advanced $1.26 to $54.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted $27.20 to $1,836.70 U.S. an ounce.
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