TSX pillars continue to power strong run

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index continued its strong run this year on the back of the pillars of the market — energy, materials and financials.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 99.20 points to 15937.44, after hitting an intraday high of 15953.90.

After a dismal December, the U.S. and Canadian markets are off to some of the best starts this century, said Craig Jerusalim, portfolio manager at CIBC Asset Management.

The TSX is up 11.3 per cent year-to-date and just 3.8 per cent off its all-time high set last July.

But that doesn’t mean the strong performance will endure. The last two times the TSX started off so strong were in 2000 and 1987.

“And neither one of those two years had good outcomes halfway through the years,” Jerusalim said in an interview.

On Monday, the Toronto market was driven higher by stronger prices for metals and oil, helped by a weaker U.S. dollar.

The key materials sector gained almost two per cent as individual miners saw their stocks gain as much as nearly 10 per cent, led by Turquoise Hill Resources and including Barrick Gold Corp. which was up 4.6 per cent.

They rose as the April gold contract was up $22.70 at $1,344.80 US an ounce and the March copper contract was up 7.6 cents at $2.87 US a pound.

Jerusalim says gold is approaching a key level as it acts as a hedge against weaker economic growth and lower equities.

“If it breaks through that ever-important $1,350 level, there’ll be a lot of momentum investors chasing stocks higher,” he said.

Technology was up 1.2 per cent while the energy sector increased by nearly one per cent as the April crude contract was up 47 cents at $56.37 US per barrel and the March natural gas contract was up 3.7 cents at $2.66 US per mmBTU.

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 75.54 cents US compared with an average of 75.38 cents US on Friday.

The health-care sector was down more than one per cent as several large cannabis producers were a drag, with Aphria Inc. falling 3.5 per cent and Canopy Growth Corp. down 2.75 per cent.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 8.07 points at 25891.32. The S&P 500 index was up 4.16 points at 2,779.76, while the Nasdaq composite was up 14.36 points at 7486.77.

Walmart’s Q4 results beat all expectations

NEW YORK — Walmart defied a gloomy U.S. government retail sales report for December, delivering fiscal fourth-quarter profits and sales that beat Wall Street expectations.

The world’s largest retailer also enjoyed another quarter of surging e-commerce sales during the critical holiday period as it expanded its online assortment and services. Shares moved higher in afternoon trading Tuesday in New York.

The report provides more evidence that Walmart’s efforts to expand online grocery services, including curbside pickup and home delivery, are widening the gap between itself and traditional rivals while at the same time holding its own against online leader Amazon.

Walmart had a fourth-quarter profit of $3.69 billion US, or $1.27 per share. Earnings, removing one-time items, were $1.41 per share, which is eight cents better than analysts had expected.

Walmart reported better-than expected revenue of $138.79 billion in the quarter.