Stocks in Toronto forged ahead Tuesday, on the backs of industrial and tech stocks, as investors took much of their cue from inflation numbers south of the border.
The TSX Composite gained 61.8 points by Tuesday’s closing bell to 21,831.02.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.08 cents at 74.12 cents U.S.
Tech stocks led the way, with Quarterhill picking up nine cents, or 4.9%, to $1.92, while Celestica hiked $2.07, or 3.6%, to $60.93.
In the industrial sector, Toromont Industries shot higher $3.14, or 2.5%, to $127.00, while Cargojet spiked $1.75, or 1.6%, to $112.61.
Consumer discretionary stocks also had a banner day, with Aritzia gathering 75 cents, or 2.2%, to $35.55, while MTY Food Group surged 96 cents, or 1.8%, to $53.01.
Gold pulled things lower, with Novagold off 22 cents, or 6.2%, to $3.35, while B2Gold hesitated 12 cents, or 3.3%, to $3.49.
In communications, Rogers dumped 72 cents, or 1.2%, to $58.97, while Quebecor sank 24 cents to $31.70.
In utilities, Transalta weakened 54 cents, or 5.8%, to $8.74, while Boralex doffed 93 cents, or 3.1%, to $28.96.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 5.77 points, or 1%, to 553.57.
Seven of the 12 subgroups were in the green by the close Tuesday, with information technology and industrials each soaring 0.9%, while consumer discretionary stocks took on 0.8%.
The five laggards were weighed most by gold, shrinking 1.9%, while communications and utilities each deleted 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks jumped Tuesday after fresh U.S. inflation data was about in line with expectations, clearing the way for investors to resume buying high-flying tech names such as Nvidia and Meta Platforms.
The Dow Jones Industrials surged 235.83 points to end Tuesday at 39,005.49.
The broader index surged 57.33 points, or 1.1%, to 5,175.27.
The NASDAQ rocketed 246.36 points, or 1.5%, to 16,265.64.
Shares of chipmaker Nvidia climbed more than 5%. Microsoft gained 2.6%, and Meta popped 3%. Oracle surged more than 11% after beating Wall Street earnings estimates.
The consumer price index climbed 0.4% in February and 3.2% year over year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a 0.4% increase last month and 3.1% year-over-year. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy from the headline reading, climbed 0.4% in February, compared to a forecast gain of 0.3%.
Investors now turn their attention to the producer price index report due this week and the Fed’s next monetary policy meeting later this month.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 4.15% from Monday’s 4.10%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shied away nine cents to $77.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices flopped $26.50 to $2,162.10.