Canada’s main stock index rebounded on Tuesday after its worst session in nearly two years, aided by mining and cyclical shares, but the sentiment remained fragile due to worries over global economic growth.
At 9:44 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 170.89 points, or 0.85%, at 20,170.58, snapping a three-day losing streak.
Global equities inched higher as risk appetite showed some signs of picking up again after Monday’s sharp falls.
“What we are seeing is simply a recovery from the rout we saw yesterday. From a risk sentiment point of view, concerns over the growth outlook, inflation and the forcefulness of central bank tightening haven’t materially changed, which makes me suspect we are simply seeing bottom-buying,” said Stuart Cole, head macro economist at Equiti Capital.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.6%, helped by stronger gold and copper prices, while consumer discretionary shares gained 2.2%.
Cronos Group Inc jumped 14% to the top of the index after the pharmaceutical firm posted upbeat first-quarter results.
Further advances were limited by healthcare sector which gave up early gains to trade 3.5% lower. Bausch Health Companies Inc, down 32.7%, led the losses, after posting disappointing first-quarter results just a few days after the Bausch + Lomb Corp spinoff IPO.
Toronto-listed technology shares gained 0.2%, tracking upbeat mood in the U.S. tech-heavy Nasdaq index, while the industrials sector rose 0.9%.
Investor sentiment remained fragile due to concerns around a slowdown in global growth amid lockdowns in China and prospects of aggressive policy tightening by major central banks.
Suncor Energy Inc inched 1.2% lower despite Canada’s No.3 oil major exceeding analysts’ estimates for first-quarter profit and boosted dividend by 12% to its highest level on Monday.
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