Equities in Canada’s largest centre enjoyed healthy, if unspectacular, gains Wednesday, as good tidings in the energy sector lent indexes some strength.
The TSX added 46.11 points to conclude trading Wednesday at 32,916.47.
The Canadian dollar pushed ahead 0.02 cents to 72.03 cents U.S.
Prime Minister Mark Carney's is soon to visit China, as our country seeks to diversify trade away from the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that while the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement was irrelevant for his country, "Canada would love it. Canada wants it. They need it." The agreement is up for review this year.
Telecommunications company Cogeco Communications and industrial manufacturer Velan are scheduled to announce their quarterly results later in the day.
Cogeco gained $1.10, or 1.6%, to $68.41, while shares in Velan docked 44 cents, or 2.3%, to $18.79.
Elsewhere, in the energy patch, Cenovus grabbed $1.03, or 4.2%, to $25.49, while Canadian Natural Resources captured $1.83, or 4%, to $47.89.
Among material stocks, Nutrien popped $6.67, or 7.8%, to $91.70, while G Mining shares triumphed $2.02, or 5.2%, to $41.06.
In telecoms, BCE vaulted 69 cents, or 2.1%, to $32.61, while TELUS gained 31 cents, or 1.7%, to $18.33.
Tech stocks fell flat on their faces, primarily Dye & Durham, tumbling 47 cents, or 10.1%, to $4.17, while Shopify tanked $13.96, or 6%, to $218.46.
Consumer discretionary stocks were also bruised, as Aritzia crumbled $8.82, or 6.6%, to $126.49, while Gildan Activewear ditched 80 cents to $86.75.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange tailed off 7.72 points to 1,090.33.
All but two the 12 TSX subgroups finished higher led by energy, pumping louder 2.2%, materials, ahead 1.2%, and telecoms, better by 1.1%.
The two laggards were information technology, fumbling 4.7%, while consumer discretionary lost 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks moved lower on Wednesday for a second day, pulling back further from record levels, as traders digested a fresh batch of earnings and monitored geopolitical developments.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its lows of the afternoon, but still missed breakeven 41.68 points to 49,150.31
The S&P 500 index subtracted 36.71 points to 6,927.03.
The NASDAQ weakened 238.12 points, or 1%, to 23,471.75.
Tech bogged down the broader market. Chip stocks in particular suffered losses, as Broadcom lost 5%, Nvidia was negative 2% and Micron Technology shed 1%.
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Chinese customs authorities have advised customs agents that Nvidia’s H200 chips are not permitted to enter the country.
Wells Fargo was among the laggards in the session, falling more than 5% after the company posted weaker-than-expected revenue for the fourth quarter.
Bank of America and Citigroup were lower despite their results beating consensus estimates, as traders didn’t view them as strong enough to continue supporting a market trading near record highs.
That adds to their losses for the week in the wake of President Donald Trump’s call for credit card interest rate reform that he made on Friday. Bank of America is down roughly 7% week to date, while Citigroup and Wells Fargo have both fallen about 8%.
Stocks were lower even after delayed producer price index and retail sales data for November came in solid.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury inched up, lowering yields to 4.14%, from Tuesday’s 4.17%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded $1.26 to $59.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $39.90 to $4,639.
