Tuesday’s morning performance of Canada’s main stock index gave indications that it might end the first month of 2023 on a positive note.
From the opening of the market at 9.30 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was on a steady rise, bent on recovering all the lost grounds of yesterday.
In early morning trading, the index was gaining double digits in points, but by afternoon it had grown to triple digits.
For example, at 9:31 a.m., the index was up 33.52 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 20,605.63. By 10:19 a.m., the index had risen by 57.09 points, or 0.28 per cent, standing at 20,629.2. But by 1:00 p.m., the index had shot up by 118.81 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 20,690.92.
By 1. 00 p.m., all the sectors were up, with the Information Technology sector leading with a gain of 1.48 per cent. It was followed by the materials sector with 1.10 per cent, while the financials sector was in third position with a gain of 0.83 per cent.
The bullish trend of the index seemed to have been aided by the news from Statistics Canada about the slight growth in the Canadian economy. According to the report released by the body today, November’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.1 per cent but was likely flat in December, based on a preliminary estimate.
Tracking the performance of the Canadian main stock index over the past year showed that it has been doing well. In the past five days, it had gained 0.31 per cent. In the past month, it had gained 6.43 per cent, while it had gained 6.02 per cent in the past three months. However, in the past year, it had lost 2.94 per cent.
The top-performing stocks were Lithium Americas Corp., which was up 13.37 per cent; Athabasca Oil Corp., which was up 5.42 per cent; and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., which was up 5.33 per cent. On the other hand, the three least-performing stocks were Denison Mines Corp. which was down 4.06 per cent; NexGen Energy Ltd., which was down 2.90 per cent; and Energy Fuels Inc., which was down by 2.89 per cent.
Across the southern border, American stock indexes were also in positive territory. S&P 500 was up 4,049.27, gaining 31.50 points, or 0.78 per cent., while the DOW was up 33,876.97, gaining 159.88 points, or 0.47 per cent. Similarly, RUSSELL 2000 was also up 1,920.90, gaining 35.18 points, or 1.87 per cent, while NASDAQ was up 11,512.15, gaining 118.33 points, or 1.04 per cent.
Crude oil also rose to US$78.88 per barrel, gaining $0.98, or 1.26 per cent, while gold futures rose to US$1,929.30 per ounce, gaining $6.40, or 0.33 per cent.
The Canadian loonie also gained, exchanging at US$0.7509, gaining $0.0043, or 0.5800 per cent.
The Canadian main stock index continued its steady rise till the end of the market. By 4.00 p.m., when the stock exchange closed for the day, the index stood at 20,767.38, gaining 195.27, or 0.95, and closing the month on a positive note.
Market movers
Within these last days of January, our investment-prone readers chose to be drawn to the mining sector.
Latin Metals (LMS) discovered zones of high-grade copper mineralization at its 100-per-cent-owned Tillo Project in the Coastal Copper Belt, Peru.
GoldON Resources (GLD) began drilling at its McDonough gold property near Red Lake, Ontario.
Dolly Varden Silver Corporation (DV) discovered multiple new high-grade gold and silver intercepts at its Homestake Ridge Property in British Columbia.
Finally, capital raises for the week include NorthWest Copper, ArcPacific Resources, Golden Independence Mining, District Metals, Centurion Minerals, Allied Copper, and Avanti Helium.
Keep a date with us for the next edition of the market summary.
