Equities in Toronto opened higher on Tuesday, buoyed by consumer and tech stocks, while rising U.S. bond yields kept investors on the edge.
The TSX Composite Index kicked off Tuesday ahead 70.42 points to 21,948.83.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.06 cents to 79.29 cents U.S.
J.P. Morgan raised the target price on Altagas Ltd to $34.00 from $31.00. Altagas shares opened Tuesday trading up nine cents to $31.01.
National Bank of Canada cut the rating on Capstone Copper to sector perform from outperform. Capstone shares slipped 23 cents, or 3.2%, to $6.90.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on Teck Resources to $65.00 from $60.00. Teck shares gave back 78 cents, or 1.4%, to $55.24.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $9.7 billion in February, following an $11.4 billion divestment in January.
At the same time, foreign investors acquired $7.4 billion of Canadian securities, mainly in the form of corporate bonds.
Meantime, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported housing starts for March came in at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 246,243 units, a 2% decline from 250,246 units in the previous month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked up 2.66 points to 895.40.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher to commence Tuesday, with consumer discretionary up 1.2%, information technology climbing 1%, and consumer staples ahead 0.8%.
The three laggards proved to be gold, down 1.3%, materials, sliding 0.8%, and energy, 0.3% less energetic.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Tuesday morning as traders navigated one of the busiest weeks of corporate earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 329.65 points, or 1%, to 34,741.34.
The S&P 500 jumped 44.92 points, or 1%, to 4,436.62.
The NASDAQ Composite popped 169.81 points, or 1.3%, to 13,502.16.
Earnings reports boosted the market on Tuesday morning. Johnson & Johnson reported mixed quarterly results on Tuesday, with its earnings per share topping earnings expectations while revenue missed analyst estimates.
The pharmaceutical company also lowered its earnings guidance for 2022. Its shares rose 2%, however, boosting the Dow.
Bank stocks also outperformed as rates moved higher and regional and mid-sized banks reported earnings. Citizens Financial, which beat first-quarter estimates on the top and bottom lines on Tuesday morning, jumped more than 7%. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs each rose more than 1%.
Some heavy hitters in the tech and media industries also rose on Tuesday. Shares of Disney climbed 2.5%, while Netflix added about 2%. Microsoft and Alphabet each rose more than 1%.
On Tuesday, Hasbro shares added about 1% despite the toy company posting a weaker-than-expected profit for the previous quarter. Its revenue was in line with estimates. Travelers Companies was down 3% and Lockheed Martin shares lost about 1% after posting mixed results.
Netflix and IBM are scheduled to post their numbers after the bell Tuesday.
On the data front, housing starts and building permits in March came in above expectations, according to estimates from Dow Jones.
Treasury prices dipped sharply, raising yields to 2.92%, from Monday’s 2.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped $4.53 to $103.68 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices paled $24.60 to $1,961.80 U.S. an ounce.