Canada’s main stock index eked out a moderate gain Tuesday as financial stocks got a boost ahead of Canadian bank earnings this week.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index climbed 18.48 points to 15,476.94, also helped by a rise in industrials and utilities stocks.
But it was financials that were the session’s most influential gainers, one day before the Bank of Montreal releases its second-quarter results to kick off the latest reporting season for the big banks. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada will report on Thursday, with Bank of Nova Scotia coming out with their results next week.
Investors will be closely watching the bank results, particularly for any insight on the state of the Canadian housing market.
One of the biggest individual gainers Tuesday was BlackBerry, which was ahead nearly 9% to its highest level in about four years. Its shares were up $1.24 to $15.27.
“There is a lot of hope… and growth expectations,” Craig Jerusalim, a portfolio manager of Canadian equities at CIBC Asset Management, said of the Waterloo, Ont., tech company.
“Clearly there is some opportunity to deliver. At least now there is a resumption in growth in earnings that could help the company.”
The former smartphone maker exited the hardware business last year to focus on its software division. Jerusalim said investors are most optimistic about BlackBerry’s QNX system, which provides software in vehicles.
In currencies, the Canadian dollar was up 0.30 of a cent at an average price of US74.13¢, a day before the Bank of Canada was to announce its latest interest rate decision. It’s highly anticipated that central bank governor Stephen Poloz will keep the key benchmark rate at 0.5%.
South of the border, New York indexes were higher for a fourth straight session as the Dow Jones industrial average advanced 43.08 points to 20,937.91, the S&P 500 index added 4.40 points to 2,398.42 and the Nasdaq composite index was ahead 5.09 points to 6,138.71.
It appears investors weren’t fazed by the deadly bombing Monday at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England that killed 22 people, Jerusalim said.
“I think it’s a bit sad that markets, the economy and investors have become numb to some of these terrorist attacks,” he said. “It has more to say about human psychology than anything else.”
Commodities were mixed, with the July crude contract up US34¢ at US$51.47 per barrel and the July natural gas contract down US11¢ at US$3.31 per mmBTU.
The June gold contract lost US$5.90 to US$1,255.50 an ounce and the July copper contract was unchanged at US$2.60 a pound.