TSX rises as gold gains lift material stocks
- The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.3% as gold futures climbed 0.4% an ounce.
- Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 76.5 points, or 0.39%, at 19,640.62.
Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday, supported by material stocks as gold prices jumped on the back of softer Treasury yields after US Federal Reserve officials downplayed inflation concerns.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.3% as gold futures climbed 0.4% an ounce.
At 09:37 a.m. ET (13:37 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 76.5 points, or 0.39%, at 19,640.62.
Bank of Montreal fell 0.1% even after strongly beating analysts' estimates for quarterly results as it set aside fewer provisions than expected and its capital markets unit swung to a profit.
Canadian National Railway rose 1.3% after saying it would divest Kansas City Southern's 70-mile rail line between New Orleans and Baton Rouge to eliminate the only overlap between the two railroad operators.
Canada's biggest pension managers boosted their investments in the country's major oil sands companies in the first quarter of 2021, raising questions about the funds' recent commitments to greening their portfolios.
The energy sector climbed 0.4% even as US crude prices were down 0.9% a barrel, while Brent crude lost 0.7%.
The financials sector remained unchanged, while industrials rose 0.5%.
On the TSX, 142 issues advanced, while 77 issues declined in a 1.84-to-1 ratio favoring gainers, with 17.05 million shares traded.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were BlackBerry Ltd, which jumped 5.6% to a 3-week high, and Teck Resources that rose 3.9% after Deutsche raised the stock's target price.
Capital Power Corp fell 4.4%, the most on the TSX, after announcing bought offering of common shares.
The second biggest decliner was iA Financial Corp , down 2.3%.
The most heavily traded shares by volume were Great-West Lifeco and Sun Life Financial.
The TSX posted seven new 52-week highs and no new low.
Across Canadian issues, there were 22 new 52-week highs and three new lows, with total volume of 28.63 million shares.
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