Equities in Canada’s biggest market gained a fair amount of ground Tuesday, with energy stocks firing on all cylinders.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 73.68 points to close Tuesday at 15,202.37
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.02 cents to 79.95 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index also included Suncor Energy, which rose 70 cents, or 1.8%, to $39.07, and Canadian Natural Resources, up 74 cents, or 2%, at $38.06.
Among consumer staples, Restaurant Brands climbed $1.34, or 1.8%, to $77.22, while grocer Metro jumped 34 cents, or 1%, to $43.16.
Consumer discretionary stocks also had a strong day, as Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers soared 48 cents, or 1.4%, to $35.72, while Canadian Tire gained 56 cents to $144.46.
Telecoms weighed most heavily among the groups losing ground, as BCE fell 4.5 cents to $58.16, while Rogers Communications doffed $1.04, or 1.6%, to $65.01
Among utilities, Hydro One fell 10 cents to $22.48, while Fortis Inc. lost 28 cents to $44.39.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stayed positive 3.08 points to 763.77.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher on the day, with energy blazing 3%, consumer staples poking up 0.8%, and consumer discretionaries excelling 0.6%,
The three laggards were weighed most by telecoms, down 0.6%, while utilities dipped 0.3%, and real-estate slumped 0.2%. Information technology stocks were unchanged by the close.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday after a slew of major companies reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 100.26 points to 21,613.43, with Caterpillar and McDonald's contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 picked up 7.17 points to 2,477.08, a new all-time high, with financials, materials and energy rising more than 1% to lead advancers.
The NASDAQ gained 1.37 points to 6,412.17, surpassing Monday’s all-time high
Caterpillar posted bottom-line results that topped estimates, sending its shares higher.
General Motors and McDonald's also saw their shares climb after reporting quarterly results. However, 3M posted weaker-than-expected results, sending the stock down 6%. Shares of 3M shaved off 73 points from the Dow.
This is the busiest week of the earnings season, with approximately 180 S&P 500 components scheduled to report. Boeing, Coca-Cola, Facebook and Amazon are set to report later this week.
Wall Street also set its sights on the Federal Reserve, as the central bank kicked off a two-day monetary policy meeting. The Fed is largely expected to keep interest rates unchanged. However, investors will parse their statement for clues about the unwinding of its $4.5-trillion balance sheet.
In economic news, major Metro area home prices rose 5.7% in May, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index.
Consumer confidence data for July exceeded analyst expectations.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note tumbled, hoisting yields to 2.33% from Monday’s 2.26%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on $1.58 to $47.92 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dimmed $4.10 to $1,250.20 U.S. an ounce.
