After last week’s impressive run by the Canadian main stock index, markets cooled off on Tuesday in reaction to the sabre-rattling between China and the United States over the visit to Taiwan by the American Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.

With the drastic effect of the war in Ukraine on the economies of most countries, it is evident that a battle between the U.S. and China over Taiwan would bring most economies to their knees.

But by the time the market opened on Wednesday morning, it was clear that tension over the visit was a storm in a teacup, as Pelosi left Taiwan without any incident. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index put all that distraction behind it and continued on its upward movement.

As the market opened at 9.30 a.m. ET, the index, which closed on Tuesday at 19,505.33, moved up immediately by 57.43 points to 19,562.76. Two minutes later, it had moved further up to 19,583.98, which would be its highest point of the day.

At 10:15 a.m., the index had lost some points from its opening figures, but it was still in positive territory. It stood at 19,558.36, with a gain of 53.03 points or 0.27 per cent.

The energy sector lost 0.4 per cent, while financials gained 0.5 per cent.

By 1.00 p.m., the top performing stock was Bausch Health Cos. Inc., which gained 13.01 per cent. NFI Group Inc. followed with a gain of 10.08 per cent. Shopify Inc. maintained third place with a 9.94 per cent gain.

At the bottom of the table was Paramount Resources Ltd., which was losing 8.55 per cent at 1.00 p.m. NuVista Energy Ltd. followed with a loss of 6.84 per cent. Athabasca Oil Corp. came third on the losers’ table with 6.78 per cent.

At 3.00. p.m. the S&P/TSX Composite Index stood at 19,565.61, with a gain of 60.28 points or 0.31 per cent.

Over the last five days, the TSX had gained 1.62 per cent. Over the last month, it had gained 4.47 per cent, a testimony to the resilience of the Canadian stock market in the face of the global economic crunch.

The U.S. markets also had a good outing on Wednesday, as the S&P 500 stood at 4,161.14 with a gain of 69.95 points or 1.71 per cent at 3.00 p.m.  The DOW was also up 1.39 per cent or 451.45 points at 32,847.62.

The Canadian dollar gained C$0.0023, exchanging at C$0.7786 for an American dollar.

Crude oil lost $3.62 or 3.83 per cent, selling at $90.80 per barrel.

On Friday, the index had risen to its highest level in about seven weeks. However, when the market opened on Tuesday this week, it shed some weight. In addition to the tension created by the visit of Pelosi to Taiwan on Tuesday, a report released on Tuesday by S&P Global showed that the Canadian manufacturing sector lost some steam in July, with production and new orders falling for the first time since June 2020, the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report showed that S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 52.5 in July from 54.6 in June. A reading above 50 shows growth in the sector.

The combined weight of these issues dampened the morale of investors, as the market closed on Tuesday at 19,505.33, shedding 187.59 points or 0.95 per cent.

The materials sector experienced the most significant loss, dropping 2.3 per cent, impacted by the fall in copper and gold prices, while the energy sector ended almost 2 per cent lower. The financials dropped 0.8 per cent.

However, by the close of the market on Wednesday, the TSX recovered some of the loss of Tuesday, closing at 15,545.94, with a gain of 40.61 points or 0.21 per cent.

Market movers

This early part half of the week has seen our readers showing more interest in mining and technology.

Novo Resources commenced drilling on Purdy’s North Gold & Nickel-Copper targets, located in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Gatekeeper Systems reported its financial results for its fiscal Q3 2022, showing $4.4M revenue.

Finally, Durango Resources intersected gold in a grab sample while setting up the drill on its wholly-owned Discovery Property in Québec.

Capital raises this early half of the week include PharmaDrug, Clear Sky Lithium, Alpha Exploration, and Global Battery Metals.


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