Canadian stocks held onto earlier gains Wednesday, with U.S. shares trading higher in afternoon trade ahead of the July 4 Independence Day holiday.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index gained 66.79 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 16,394.04.
Nationally, the tech sector gained 0.5 per cent, led by a 5.3 per cent gain for Copart Inc., while its rival, Edmonton-based ATH Corp. was ahead 4.3 per cent,
The TSX also added 2.1 per cent the day before the July 4 holiday, fuelled by a 10.6 per cent surge for Zags Inc., which posted quarterly results.
The energy sector also came into play, rising 0.7 per cent, with Suncor up 1.1 per cent, and Canadian Natural Resources up 1.8 per cent.
There were few sectors left in the red as U.S. indexes closed at record levels. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 42.87 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 25,196.69, the S&P 500 index rose 5.68 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 2,849.78 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 7.71 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7,601.78.
Financials were relatively flat for the day, up 0.05 per cent. The health care sector lost 0.28 per cent.
A 16 per cent gain for Bitauto Holdings Ltd. boosted Chinese stocks as the technology company rose after surpassing expectations for revenue and profit. China’s other major exchanges also rose.
Energy climbed 1.2 per cent as the U.S. oil benchmark strengthened by 2.2 per cent. U.S. crude traded at US$72.10 a barrel, up US$1.34.
Investors also took a look back on how Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz characterised Canada’s economic strength earlier this month.
On June 12, Poloz told reporters in Quebec City that there were no signs of inflationary pressures in Canada. The remarks were the first public remarks Poloz has made since the Bank said it would withdraw the measures it had used to curb long-term interest rates in response to the economic expansion.
The Canadian dollar was trading near its highest in about four months, holding steady at 76.45 US cents as of 2:30 p.m. in Toronto. The loonie has been buoyed by optimism that the U.S.-China trade war is easing.
With files from Reuters