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 pros-pect of a presidential permit being re-scinded 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 Mar-tin Luther King Jr. Day.

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

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 prof-it-taking after last week’s poor perform-ance.

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 pipe-line 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 re-scind the permit issued in 2019 by pre-decessor Donald Trump.

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

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

The overhang pushed MEG Energy Corp. down five per cent, Seven Genera-tions 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