Gold, oil prices give TSX triple-digit lift
TORONTO — Surging gold and oil prices helped give Canada’s main stock index a triple-digit boost on Wednesday, as the loonie strengthened against a weakening greenback.
The S&P/TSX composite index advanced 111.80 points to 15,328.27, led by strong gains in the gold, base metals, materials and energy sectors.
The March crude contract climbed US$1.41 to US$60.60 per barrel and the April gold contract soared US$27.60 to US$1,358.00 an ounce.
South of the border, American stocks capped off their fourth day of gains amid a U.S. government report that consumer prices rose by 0.3 per cent in January at a rate faster than economists expected.
But there were few signs of the worries about inflation that sent stocks falling on Feb. 2 after reports of greater U.S. wage growth caused investors to worry about faster inflation — and the likelihood that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates more rapidly, making it more expensive for businesses and individuals to borrow money.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 253.04 points to 24,893.49. The S&P 500 index added 35.69 points to 2,698.63 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 130.11 points to 7,143.62.
Wednesday’s consumer price numbers were tempered by retail sales figures also released Wednesday showing that Americans cut back on purchases of cars, furniture and a variety of other products in January and the U.S. Commerce Department also lowered its estimate for shopping in December. The surprise slowdown comes after a three-month stretch of sizzling consumer activity, from September through November, which had fuelled the most robust holiday sales in a decade.
“The fears of the economy overheating have been a little bit balanced out with the combination of these two numbers,” said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management.
The Canadian dollar closed at an average trading value of 79.61 cents US, up 0.24 of a U.S. cent.
In commodities, the March natural gas contract was down a cent at US$2.59 per mmBTU and the March copper contract was up seven cents to US$3.24 a pound.
• Goldcorp Inc. more than doubled net earnings in the fourth quarter to $242 million US thanks in part to a boost from oneoff items. The company said earnings, which work out to $0.28 per share, are up from $101 million or $0.12 per share in the fourth quarter last year. Earnings were boosted by non-cash or other items including $156 million from deferred tax recovery in Argentina, $27 million from disposing some mining interests, and $23 million from the net reversal of impairments.
• Teck Resources Ltd. reported a fourthquarter profit of $760 million, boosted by the reversal of an impairment charge related to an improvement in the outlook for steelmaking coal prices. The miner said the profit amounted to $1.32 per share for the three months ended Dec. 31 compared with a profit of $697 million or $1.21 per share a year earlier. Revenue totalled nearly $3.21 billion, down from $3.56 billion. On an adjusted basis, Teck said it earned a profit of $700 million or $1.21 per share for the quarter, down from a profit of $930 million or $1.61 per share in the last three months of 2016.
• Kinross Gold Corp. is buying two hydroelectric plants in Brazil for $257 million to secure a low-cost power supply for its Paracatu mine. The Toronto-based miner said the deal is expected to allow it to lower operating costs at Paracatu by eliminating about 70 per cent of future power purchases.