Equities in Canada’s largest centre began March in positive country, mostly on the back of resource stocks.
The TSX advanced 38.59 points to finish Wednesday at 20,259.78
The Canadian dollar added 0.27 cents to 73.55 cents U.S.
Metals led the pack, with Capstone Mining ahead 36 cents, or 5.9%, to $6.43, while Ero Copper moved ahead just $1.19, or 5.6%, to $22.59.
In gold stocks, Torex grabbed $1.03, or 6.1%, to $17.83, while B2Gold increased 25 cents, or 5.4%, to $4.91.
Energy stocks rumbled forward, as Tourmaline Oil pumped $2.54, or 4.3%, to $62.34, while Headwater Exploration climbed 22 cents, or 3.7%, to $6.21.
Health-care stocks let the side down, as it were, with Chartwell Retirement Residences skidding 34 cents, or 3.7%, to $8.77, while Sienna Senior Living dropped 31 cents, or 2.8%, to $10.98.
In techs, Converge Technology fell 13 cents, or 2.8%, to $4.53, while Shopify sank $1.48, or 2.6%, to $54.70.
In real-estate, units of Artis REIT collapsed 34 cents, or 3.7%, to $8.75, while Killam Apartment REIT gave back 37 cents, or 2%, to $18.00.
On the economic slate, the Markit Canada Manufacturing PMI for February registered 52.4, up from 51.0 in January, and the highest reading recorded by the survey since last July. It was also the second month in a row that the index has recorded above the 50.0 no-change mark that separates growth from contraction.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.14 points to 634.60.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were on the march in the first hour of trade, with materials stronger 2.2%, gold brighter 2.1%, and energy gushing 0.9%.
The five laggards were weighed most by information technology and financial, each down 0.4%, and health-care, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 fell Wednesday, the first day of March, as traders struggled to recover their footing following a losing month and bond yields continued their climb.
The Dow Jones Industrials forged out gains of 5.14 points to end Wednesday at 32,661.84.
The S&P 500 fell 18.76 points to 3,951.39.
The NASDAQ Composite descended 76.06 points to 11,379.48.
Sentiment initially got a boost after the release of much stronger-than-expected data out of China. The country’s National Bureau of Statistics said its official manufacturing PMI rose to 52.6 in February — a high not seen since April 2012.
The moves come after Wall Street closed out a losing February for stocks on Tuesday. The Dow led the averages down, closing the month down 4.2%. The S&P 500 let go of 2.6%, and the NASDAQ shed 1.1%.
February’s slide dragged the Dow into negative territory for the year, while the other two indexes are still holding onto their gains.
The decline marked a turn from January’s rally and was prompted in part by the bombshell jobs data that came in the first week of the month, according to Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. Non-farm payrolls increased by 517,000 in January, according to the report, which crushed the 187,000 estimated by economists polled by Dow Jones.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury hesitated, raising yields to 4% from Tuesday’s 3.93%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices climbed 68 cents to $77.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $8.10 to $1,844.80 U.S. an ounce.