Stocks broke their losing streak Wednesday, with energy and materials pulling the index along after severe losses Tuesday.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 53.42 points to greet the closing bell Wednesday at 20,744.23
The Canadian dollar stumbled 0.11 cents to 77.97 cents U.S.
Health-care was the heaviest of the subgroups Wednesday, with WELL Health Technology falling 11 cents, or 2.3%, to $4.61, and Tilray off nine cents, or 1.4%, to $6.42.
Financials had a rough go of it, with IA Financial losing $1.39, or 2%, to $66.99, while Laurentian Bank skidded 74 cents, or 1.9%, to $38.38.
Real-estate was also negative, with Colliers International Group down $3.41, or 2.3%, to $145.35, while Altus Group lost 70 cents, or 1.5%, to $45.30.
Energy balanced things out somewhat, with Cenovus Energy stronger by $2.13, or 10.1%, to $23.22, while Baytex Energy advanced 37 cents, or 5.7%, to $6.84.
In other resources, First Majestic Silver darted $1.74 higher, or 5.1%, to $35.57, while Capstone Mining added 23 cents, or 4.3%, to $5.64.
In consumer staples, Loblaw jumped $2.4, or 1.9%, to $118.30, while Alimentation Couche-Tard moved up 61 cents, or 1.1%, to $56.72.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 3.59 points to 808.73.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, with health-care slipping 0.8%, financials paling 0.6%, and real-estate off 0.4%.
The five gainers were led by energy, up 3.3%, materials, ahead 1.2%, and consumer staples, better by 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ Composite closed at its low of 2022, a day after its worst daily loss since 2020, as stocks attempted to rebound from a technology-led selloff in April.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved into the plus column 61.75 points to 33,301.93, though off its highs of the day.
The S&P 500 regained 8.76 points to 4,183.96.
The NASDAQ Composite snipped off 1.81 points to 12,488.93.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ is in bear market territory, roughly 23% below its high. The S&P 500 is 13.2% off its record and sits below a key support level of 4,200. Corporate earnings were in focus as investors digested quarterly results from mega-cap names.
In April, the S&P 500 is down 7.7%. The NASDAQ has lost 12.2%. The Dow has declined around nearly 4%.
Microsoft rose 4.8%, providing support to the major averages, after strong earnings results. The company posted a better-than-expected quarterly report and issued optimistic forward revenue guidance.
Visa also added nearly 6.5%, the top gainer on the Dow, after the company’s quarterly results topped analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines. Solar company Enphase Energy surged 7.7% and was the biggest winner on the S&P 500 after an earnings beat.
On the downside, Google parent Alphabet fell 3.6% after the tech giant’s earnings results missed consensus estimates. Management warned on the conference call of another potentially weak quarter ahead.
Boeing also saw shares drop 7.5% after an earnings miss, making it the biggest laggard on the Dow.
Investors also looked at other Big Tech names ahead of reports. Facebook parent Meta was set to report earnings Wednesday after the bell, while Apple and Amazon were slated to report earnings Thursday. Meta on Wednesday fell 3.3%, and Apple and Amazon were both lower.
Treasury prices sagged, lifting yields up to 2.84% from Tuesday’s 2.74%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 45 cents at $102.15 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $18.00 to $1,886.10 U.S. an ounce.