S&P/TSX composite up nearly 200 points Wednesday, U.S. markets also rise

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index gained almost 200 points Wednesday on broad-based strength led by base metals and industrials, while U.S. markets also rose, led by a 1.2 per cent gain on the Dow. 

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 194.56 points at 22,107.08.

In the middle of a quiet week for North American markets, the TSX is being pushed higher by “old economy” sectors like industrials, materials and financials, said Jules Boudreau, senior economist at Mackenzie Investment.

Gold has been enjoying a nice run, he added, propped up by buying from institutional investors and central banks, especially the People’s Bank of China. 

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 477.75 points at 39,760.08. The S&P 500 index was up 44.91 points at 5,248.49, while the Nasdaq composite was up 83.82 points at 16,399.52.

Markets continue to perform highly on good news days, but in the absence of news, “it seems like there’s a little bit more resistance,” said Boudreau. 

Nevertheless, the S&P 500 managed to snag yet another all-time high on Wednesday as it rose 0.9 per cent.

The Nasdaq, meanwhile, lagged its peers, rising just 0.5 per cent. 

Tech giant Nvidia has been dragging on U.S. markets this week and was down another 2.5 per cent on Wednesday. 

“We know that for the past few days, there’s clearly been some exhaustion” amid a pause in market-moving news, said Boudreau. 

“We’re just kind of in this limbo, where valuations have time to push a little against markets.” 

Markets are also approaching the end of the quarter, a time when some rebalancing is to be expected, said Boudreau. 

“In general, at quarter end, you see a rebalancing away from the asset classes that worked and towards those that lagged,” he said. In this case, that’s away from stocks and toward bonds. 

Upcoming economic data in the U.S. and Canada will be key for investors looking for clues about coming interest rate cuts from central banks.

In Canada, it’s not impossible that the central bank could cut in April, though June is more likely, said Boudreau. 

“The bank is looking for reasons to cut,” he said, and the upcoming release of bank surveys on businesses and consumers could help. 

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.60 cents US compared with 73.68 cents US on Tuesday.

The May crude oil contract was down 27 cents at US$81.35 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down seven cents at US$1.72 per mmBTU.

The June gold contract was up US$13.50 at US$2,212.70 an ounceand the May copper contract was down a penny at US$4 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) 

Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press