Equities in Toronto enjoyed triple-digit gains Wednesday, exhibiting magnanimity over inflation figures south of the border.
The S&P/TSX Composite charged ahead 120.19 points to conclude Wednesday’s session at 21,395.
The Canadian dollar hiked 0.47 cents to 79.98 cents U.S.
Energy led the upward charge, with Tamarack Valley Energy ahead 21 cents, or 4.7%, to $4.66, while Peyto Exploration moved higher 69 cents, or 6.6%, to $11.11.
Gold issues also climbed, as New Gold added 13 cents, or 6.5%, to $2.14, while OceanaGold popped six cents, or 3%, to $2.06.
In other resource stocks, Lundin Mining increased 96 cents in price, or 9.5%, to $11.02.
Among health-care issues, Tilray lost 34 cents, or 3.7%, to $8.96, while Aurora Cananbis lost 19 cents, or 2.6%, to $7.22.
Communications also took a pasting, with Cogeco Communications falling $2.52, or 2.5%, to $99.52, while Rogers doffed 60 cents, or 1%, to $61.43,
Real-estate issues also slid, with Allied Properties REIT down 50 cents, or 1.1%, to $43.80, while Colliers International Group retreated $1.81, or 1%, to $179.00.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange surged 12.85 points, or 1.4%, to 923.52.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive by the close Wednesday, as materials pushed higher by 2.2%, energy was up 1.2%, and gold was 0.6% brighter.
The five laggards were weighed most heavily by health-care, sliding 2.3%, communications, off 0.4%, and real-estate, backtracking 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks moved slightly higher Wednesday after a key inflation report showed a historic gain but largely matched expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrials finished the day higher by 38.3 points to 36,290.32
The S&P 500 gained 13.28 points to 4,726.35
The NASDAQ Composite stayed above water 34.94 points to 15,188.39.
Stocks tied to economic growth were some of the stronger performers, with chemical company Mosaic rising 3.8% and Freeport-McMoRan jumping 5%. Software giant Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet each added about 1%, while Tesla gained nearly 4%.
On the downside, Biogen shares tumbled 6.7% following news that Medicare will only cover the cost for the company’s Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm for patients with early-stage symptoms who are enrolled in clinical trials. Health care was a weak spot for the market overall, with Merck and Amgen both weighing on the Dow.
The moves come after the December reading for the consumer price index, a gauge of prices across a broad spectrum of goods, showed a gain of 7% year over year. That is the biggest jump since 1982, but was in-line with expectations from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
The monthly increase was slightly hotter than expected.
However, interest rates already moved sharply higher in the first week of 2022, sparking a selloff in tech stocks. That suggests the hot inflation report, and future actions by the Federal Reserve, may be at least partially priced in to the market.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys gained some ground, lowering yields to 1.73% from Tuesday’s 1.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up $1.46 to $82.68 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices grew $8.40 to $1,826.90 U.S. an ounce.
