Equities in Toronto surpassed a near three-month high on Wednesday, lifted by cannabis stocks, and tracking a global rally in equities on upbeat earnings and easing geopolitical tensions.
The S&P/TSX Composite raced 227.01 points, or 1%, to greet the closing bell Wednesday at 21,604.19
The Canadian dollar added 0.22 cents at 78.92 cents U.S.
Pot stocks were champs once again, as Canopy Growth leaped $1.35, or 13.8%, to $11.12, while Aurora Cannabis picked up 53 cents, or 10%, $5.85.
Among tech issues, Absolute Software surged $2.09, or 20.7%, to $12.21, while Lightspeed POS hiked $2.36, or 6.1%, to $40.82.
In the industrial sector, Bombardier gathered a dime, or 5.9%, to $1.79, while TFI International forged ahead $7.22, or 5.5%, to $139.45.
Gold did not do so well, though, as OceanaGold tanked 11 cents, or 5.4%, to $1.93, while Eldorado Gold lost 21 cents, or 1.7%, to $11.99.
In financials, Laurentian Bank dropped 71 cents, or 1.6%, to $44.31, while CIBC weakened $1.66, or 1%, to $164.79.
Additionally, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem is due to speak at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce this afternoon.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange strengthened 16.05 points, or 1.9%, to 875.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive on the day, with health-care popping 6.2%, information technology, better by 2.6%, and industrials improving 1.7%.
The two laggards were gold, sliding 0.9%, and financials, tripping 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as tech shares led a broad rally, clawing back some of their losses after a rough start to the year.
The Dow Jones Industrials needed sirens to herald its climb of 305.28 points to conclude Wednesday at 35,768.06.
The S&P 500 hiked 65.65 points, or 1.5%, to 4,587.18
The NASDAQ screamed high 295.92 points, or 2.1%, to 14,490.37.
Wednesday marked the second straight positive day for the NASDAQ, and the average has gained more than 8% since its recent closing low on Jan. 27 after falling into correction territory earlier this year.
Wednesday’s gains were highlighted by some of the same stocks that outperformed during the pandemic lockdowns in 2020. E-commerce stock Shopify gained more than 5%, while Etsy gained 3.8%. Stay-at-home favorites such as DocuSign gained 5.2% and Zoom Video jumped 4.8%.
The NASDAQ has gained more than 7% from its recent low on Jan. 27 after falling into correction territory earlier this year. Still, many Wall Street pros are cautious about the near term outlook for tech stocks amid rising interest rates and elevated market volatility.
Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings rose 4.3% and Delta Air Lines added nearly 3% on Wednesday as concerns about omicron fade from the market. New York State announced on Wednesday that it was lifting its indoor mask mandate.
On the earnings front, Chipotle rose more than 10% on the back of its strong quarterly numbers, while Lyft gained 6.8% despite announcing it had fewer active riders than in the prior quarter.
Solar stock Enphase Energy surged 12% after the company beat estimates on the top and bottom lines for the fourth quarter and delivered upbeat guidance. The result appeared to boost other stocks in the burgeoning industry as well, with SolarEdge Technologies jumping nearly 7%.
As of the opening bell on Wednesday, roughly 60% of all S&P 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter earnings and about 77% have topped Wall Street’s earnings estimates. Disney, Mattel, MGM Resorts and Uber Technologies will release results after the bell on Wednesday.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys gained a bit of ground, lowering yields to 1.95% from Tuesday’s 1.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up 67 cents to $90.03 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were up $5.50 to $1,833.40 U.S. an ounce.