Canada’s main stock index climbed in a broad-based rally on Wednesday and was set for its biggest single-day jump in a month after data showed domestic inflation eased slightly in November.
At 10:34 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 245.08 points, or 1.27%, at 19,551.97
Canada’s annual headline inflation number for last month came in at 6.8%, a notch above analyst forecasts of 6.7%, but down from 6.9% in October.
“It is a touch higher than expected, but I still think it shows that it is a step down from the prior month and that is really the good news,” said Greg Taylor, a portfolio manager at Purpose Investments.
However, inflation is not going to be easy to stamp out, Taylor added.
Earlier in the month, Bank of Canada Governor said the central bank was trying to raise rates enough to tame inflation without forcing the economy into a deep recession but the greater risk of the two is sticky inflation, which would require “much higher” rates.
All 10 major sectors were in the green with materials stocks, which include precious and base metal miners, leading the gains with a 1.7% rise, followed by energy stocks , up 1.3%, as oil prices rose more than 2%.
Commodity-fueled gains have helped the benchmark index outperform the U.S. S&P 500 index so far this year, losing 8% versus a 18.9% drop in the U.S. benchmark.
Among individual stocks, BlackBerry Ltd slumped to the bottom of the index, losing 6.9% after the tech company said it expects the current macroeconomic environment to pose more near-term challenges.
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