Stocks finished in the plus column Wednesday, as advances in health-care trumped tech losses.
The TSX Composite moved ahead 37.36 points to conclude Wednesday at 22,112.46.
The Canadian dollar grabbed 0.18 cents at 73.90 cents U.S.
Health-care was the clear winner among stock subgroups gaining ground, as Tilray Inc. climbed 55 cents, or 16.7%, to $3.84, while Sienna Senior Living had a more modest gain of nine cents to $13.07.
In materials, First Majestic Silver popped $1.43, or 16.4%, to $10.17, while Fortuna Silver Mines rocketed 72 cents, or 13.2%, to $6.16.
Gold stocks jumped, with B2Gold acquiring 17 cents, or 4.7%, to $3.80, while New Gold picked up 14 cents, or 3.2%, to $4.50.
Techs had a tougher time of it, with Copperleaf Technologies dipped 35 cents, or 4.9%, to $6.74, while Shopify slipped $3.64, or 3.4%, to $102.37.
Consumer discretionary were also bruised, primarily Restaurant Brands, off $1.96, or 1.9%, to $103.79, while Dollarama lost $1.43, or 1.4%, to $100.36.
In real-estate, Interrent REIT units fell 37 cents, or 2.8%, to $12.74, while Boardwalk REIT faltered $2.10, or 2.8%, to $73.64.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange galloped 14.36 points, or 2.5%, to close Wednesday at 584.88.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided, with health-care up 4.2%, materials soaring 2%, while gold surged 1.8%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by information technology, dunking 1.1%, consumer discretionary stocks, withering 0.9%,
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 was near flat on Wednesday as the market struggled to shake the rough start to the second quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrials dipped 43.1 points to 39,127.14, weighed down by Intel’s 8.1% drop after the company reported operating losses in its semiconductor manufacturing business.
The S&P 500 edged up 5.68 points to 5,211.49.
The NASDAQ recovered 37.01 points to 16,277,46.
Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia swung into the red despite trading higher for much of Wednesday, providing downward momentum for the market. On the other hand, fellow mega-cap technology stocks Netflix and Meta climbed more than 1% each.
Higher rates continued to hurt stocks. ADP data released Wednesday showed private payrolls grew more than expected in March. It offered another sign of resiliency in the economy as investors grow increasingly concerned about the path of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
But higher rates still weighed on the market as they have since the second quarter began this week. ADP data released Wednesday showing private payrolls grew more than expected in March, offering another sign of resiliency in the economy as investors grow increasingly concerned about the path of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.35% from Tuesday’s 4.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices advanced 43 cents at $85.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices spiked $35.20 to $2,317.00 U.S. an ounce.