TSX Recovers with Vengeance
Stocks in Toronto regrouped in a big way Wednesday, enjoying triple-digit gains, led by resource stocks.
The TSX surged 188.58 points, or 1%, to close the mid-week session at 19,879.79.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.09 cents to 73.88 cents U.S.
Tech stocks led the parade, with Bitfarms ahead 16 cents, or 9.3%, to $1.89, while HUT 8 Mining popped 22 cents, or 7%, to $3.37.
Among gold, Centerra Gold acquired 42 cents, or 5.6%, to $7.97, while Iamgold captured 19 cents, or 6.5%, to $3.14.
In materials, K92 Mining gained 30 cents, or 5.1%, to $6.15, while Pan American Silver grabbed 85 cents, or 4.1%, to $21.79.
Energy let down the ship, with Birchcliff Energy fading 35 cents, or 4.4%, to $7.91, while Vermilion Energy lost 54 cents to $18.58.
On matters economic, June retail sales data showed 0.1% growth from the previous month, driven mainly by car sales, a sign of weak consumer spending that could convince the central bank that interest rate hikes are sinking in.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast June sales to be flat.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 11.27 points, or 1.9%, to 593.51.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the winners’ circle, led by gold, up 2.7%, information technology, better by 2.4%, and materials, stronger 1.7%
Only energy faltered, and 0.9% to be exact.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks ended higher on Wednesday as Wall Street awaited the latest quarterly figures from Nvidia, the high-flying chipmaker that’s been bolstered by the artificial intelligence craze on Wall Street. A decline in yields also buoyed sentiment among investors.
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The Dow Jones Industrials zoomed 184.15 points to end Wednesday at 34,472.98.
The S&P 500 index captured 48.46 points, or 1.1%, to 4,436.01.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ index surged 212.16 points, or 1.6%, to 13,721.03.
Nvidia is slated to report second-quarter earnings after the bell. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expect the company to report sharp year-over-year spikes in profit and revenue. Nvidia is the best-performing S&P 500 stock of 2023, up more than 200%, as investors cheer the company’s AI-related prospects.
Investors will look to the report for signs that the AI trend has more momentum. If not, it’s possible the August downturn will be prolonged. Shares rose 2% ahead of the release.
Although Nvidia is the largest position in the firm’s equity strategy, Jones said he is trimming back on other technology holdings, saying that “the valuation tells you there’s not a lot of room for margin for error.”
Nike fell for a 10th straight day, its longest slide on record, losing 2.5%. Foot Locker shares plunged nearly 31% after reporting shrinking sales and lowering its forecast for the second time this year. The stock is on track for its biggest one-day drop, according to FactSet. Those moves come a day after Dick’s Sporting Goods suffered its worst day ever.
Investors also looked ahead to the start of a two-day Federal Reserve symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, beginning Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to deliver remarks Friday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury hiked, reducing yields to 4.19% from Tuesday’s 4.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.01 to $78.63 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $19.70 to $1,945.70 U.S. an ounce.