A jump in the materials sector and rally among energy stocks pushed Canada’s stock exchange into positive territory for a fourth straight day.
The TSX rose 84 points, with eight of the index’s 11 main sectors in the green.
Precious metal stocks were bolstered by another rise in the safe haven of gold, which in turn was aided by a softer greenback and a dip in U.S. consumer sentiment.
Today’s market movers included Continental Gold Inc., which surged 21 percent, Barrick Gold, up five percent, and Yamana Gold Inc., which rose 4.6 percent.
In New York, it was a mixed bag on Wall Street with the Dow moving up 51 points and Nasdaq off by 57 points, ahead of Apple’s quarterly earnings results announcement, set to come after the bell.
Earlier this month, the tech giant warned that it would badly miss its revenue target, primarily due to a drop in iPhone sales in China.
Shares in Apple were down one percent today.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting on interest rates, and trade talks resuming tomorrow between the U.S. and China.
All signs points to the Fed keeping the rates unchanged.
Oil moved $1.25 higher to $53.24 US a barrel after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Venezuela, but gains were limited by global oversupply and concerns over China’s flagging economy.
Gold prices hit a seven-month high, jumping another $7.30 to $1,310 an ounce while the loonie weakened slightly, off by 2/100ths of a cent to $0.7533 US.
Elsewhere, a cannabis-focused consumer packaged goods company debuted on the trading floor and was a hit among investors.
During its first day on the Canadian Securities Exchange, Slang Worldwide Inc. jumped as much as 33 percent.
The Canopy Growth-backed firm won’t be growing pot or opening retail stores, but will be more focused on brands and distribution.
