Stocks in Canada’s largest centre managed to get some traction Tuesday afternoon, and hit the closing bell in the green.
The TSX Composite index added 44.29 points to greet the closing bell Tuesday at 20,200.65.
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.4 cents to 81.23 cents U.S.
Tech firms carried the day, with BlackBerry jumping 71 cents, or4.5%, to $16.50, while Constellation Software rocketed $50.56, or 2.7%, to $1,896.90.
In consumer staples, Empire Company vaulted 64 cents, or 1.5%, to $42.14, while North West Company popped 45 cents, or 1.3%, to $35.50.
Among consumer discretionary interests, Canada Goose Holdings soared $3.01, or 6.4%, to $50.19, while Spin Master took on $1.25, or 2.9%, to $44.05.
Gold faded the most, with Equinox taking it on the chin 37 cents, or 3.8%, to $9.47, while Iamgold docked 15 cents, or 3.8%, to $3.83.
In the energy sector, Cenovus Energy dawdled 24 cents, or 1.9%, to $12.15, while Crescent Point Energy fell eight cents, or 1.4%, to $5.60.
In the health-care field, Trillium Therapeutics dumped 34 cents, or 2.7%, to $12.22, while Organigram Holdings ditched nine cents, or 2.5%, to $3.52.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.9 points to 940.03.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground Tuesday, led by information technology, up 1.6%, while consumer staples leaped 0.7%, and consumer discretionary stocks strengthened 0.6%.
The three laggards were gold, sliding 0.9%, energy, down 0.4%, and health-care, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 ended the day just short of a new closing record, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite climbed to an all-time high as bitcoin staged an intraday comeback.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 68.61 points to 33,945.58.
The S&P 500 moved forward 21.65 points to 4,246.44
The NASDAQ rocketed 111.75 points to 14,253.27.
Major technology shares led the market rally Tuesday as Netflix climbed 2.3%, while Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft all gained at least 1%. Alphabet shares turned higher even after the European Commission opened a probe into Google’s advertising unit.
Bitcoin endured another wild session that saw it break below $30,000, only to later turn green on the day. At one point Tuesday, the world’s largest crypto currency wiped out all of its 2021 gains. Tesla, a bitcoin holder, reversed 1% higher as the digital token bounced off its low.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified Tuesday to the House of Representatives on the central bank’s response to the pandemic.
His remarks, which were released ahead of the hearing Monday evening, supported the notion that the Fed is ready to soon start discussing removing some of its unprecedented stimulus measures enacted during the pandemic.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were higher, lowering yields to 1.47% from Monday’s 1.49%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank 58 cents to $73.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices removed $5.40 to $1,777.50 U.S. an ounce.