S&P/TSX composite up despite energy trending down

TORONTO • Canada’s main stock index edged higher in a broad-based rally even as energy was pulled down by the prospect of a presidential permit being rescinded for the Keystone XL project.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 35.85 points to 17,944.88.

Nine of the 11 major sectors on the TSX were higher, led by technology and health care.

U.S. stock markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

A 5.8 per cent increase in shares of BlackBerry Ltd. pushed technology up 1.4 per cent.

Health care gained 1.3 per cent with cannabis producer Aphria Inc. up 3.8 per cent.

The heavyweight financials sectors was higher while materials moved upwards on a rise in gold prices on some profit-taking after last week’s poor performance.

The February gold contract was up US$6.90 at US$1,836.80 an ounce and the March copper contract was up 1.15 cents at US$3.61 a pound.

Energy fell 1.6 per cent on lower crude oil prices and a 4.5 per cent pullback by TC Energy Corp. over uncertainty about the future of the western Canadian pipeline extension.

President-elect Joe Biden’s intention on Keystone XL, outlined in transition documents seen by The Canadian Press, suggests he plans to sign an executive order as early as inauguration day to rescind the permit issued in 2019 by predecessor Donald Trump.

“This really shouldn’t come as a huge surprise,” said Mike Archibald, vice-president and portfolio manager with AGF Investments Inc.

“There had been some talk that this would likely happen at some point of time in the first six months in his administration, although I will say I think it’s coming a little sooner than many had expected.”

The overhang pushed MEG Energy Corp. down five per cent, Seven Generations Energy Ltd. down 4.4 per cent and Vermilion Energy Inc. off 4.1 per cent.

“Clearly there’s going to continue to be an ongoing battle over whether or not this pipeline actually ever gets put into use,” Archibald said in an interview