Equities in Canada’s largest market concluded Tuesday in plus territory, on the eve of a big interest rate announcement by the U.S. Federal Reserve, despite a brief outage on Bay Street during the afternoon.
All trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange was briefly halted on Tuesday after a connection issue with placing orders for certain stocks.
Within about an hour, however, the exchange had identified and rectified the problem. The market went into pre-market trading mode at around 11 a.m. EDT, and was operating normally before noon.
In betwixt and between, however, the TSX Composite gained 91.57 points, to close Tuesday at 19,517.71.
The Canadian dollar gave back 0.09 cents to 73.37 cents U.S.
In material stocks, Hudbay Minerals zoomed 58 cents, or 11.2%, to $5.75, while Capstone Mining acquired 36 cents, or 11.4%, to $3.52.
In energy, Paramount Resources gained in price $2.11, or 7.3%, to $30.97, while Precision Drilling hiked $5.78, or 5.8%, to $106.28.
Gold recovered somewhat, as NovaGold took on 27 cents, or 4.3%, to $6.56, while Seabridge Gold gained 47 cents, or 3.2%, to $15.02.
Health-care stocks took a whacking, with Canopy Growth dumping 33 cents, or 6.5%, to $4.76, while Tilray slid 32 cents, or 5.8%, to $5.23.
As the earnings season unfolds, Thomson Reuters reported higher third-quarter revenue and operating profit. Thomson shares dived $4.89, or 3.4%, to $140.00. Elsewhere in industrials CAE ditched 77 cents, or 3%, to $25.23.
Utilities took some bruises, as Altagas fell 85 cents, or 3.5%, to $23.72, while Capital Power slouched $1.49, or 3.3%, to $44.11.
In matters economic, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index registered at 48.8 in October, down from 49.8 in September
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 2.91 points to 598.24.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups continued positive on the session.
Materials sprinted 2.3%, while energy rumbled 1.4%, and gold leaped 1.3%.
The laggards were weighed most by health-care, dawdling 1.4%, and industrials, weaker by 0.7%, and utilities, off 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks dipped on Tuesday as traders assessed better-than-expected economic data and prepared for another likely rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials were 79.75 points to the bad, ending Tuesday at 32,653.20.
The S&P 500 sagged 15.88 points to 3,856.10.
The NASDAQ dropped 97.30 points to 10,890.85.
All the major averages opened higher but turned negative after job openings data for September showed a resilient labour market
Losses were mitigated Tuesday as a better-than-feared earnings season continued with a strong report from Pfizer. Uber shares popped nearly 12% on a revenue beat.
Some traders pointed to optimism from unconfirmed reports that China may pivot from its zero-COVID policy as a source for Tuesday’s early gains.
Tuesday also marks the start of the Fed’s November meeting, which many expect will result in a 75-basis-point interest rate hike. Investors will also monitor the central bank’s statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference for signs of a slowing tightening pace.
Treasury prices inched backward, raising yields to Monday’s 4.05%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added $1.77 to $88.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shot up $9.60 to $1,650.30 U.S. an ounce.