TORONTO — Gains in energy and battery metals helped lift Canada's main stock index higher Tuesday as the price of oil also rose above US$70 a barrel.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 49.58 points at 20,204.87, while U.S. stock markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday.
Energy stocks, along with other commodities, helped boost the TSX into the green on a low-volume day, said Mike Archibald, vice-president and portfolio manager with AGF Investments Inc.
Oil has been trading for weeks in a range between the high 60s and low 70s, he said, and Tuesday was no exception as the price of oil has climbed back above US$70 a barrel.
The uptick came after Saudi Arabia and Russia announced Monday they are extending July production cuts into August as they seek to boost the price of oil.
“Whether or not Russia and Saudi Arabia follow through on that remains to be seen, but yes, it's definitely … having a bit of an impact on the energy price today,” said Archibald.
Oil is still caught between the downward pull of the slowing global economy and the ongoing cuts pulling prices upward, he said: “That continues to be a battle.”
The rest of the week will see employment data coming out in the U.S. and Canada, which will help inform upcoming interest rate decisions by the central banks, said Archibald. Meanwhile, earnings season is on the horizon as investors eye U.S. firms' second-quarter reports amid a slowing economy.
In recent weeks there has been a bit of a reversion to underperforming areas of the market, but it’s not yet clear how long-lasting this rotation will be, said Archibald, adding earnings will likely affect that outcome.
“Financials have done fairly well in the last week or so, and energy as well,” he said. “We’ll have to see whether or not that follows through as we get further into the second half of the year.”
The Canadian dollar traded for 75.65 cents US compared with 75.53 cents US on Friday.
The August crude oil contract was up US$1.21 at US$71.00 per barrel as of late afternoon Tuesday, and the August natural gas contract was up four cents at US$2.75 per mmBTU.
The August gold contract was up US$4.10 at US$1,933.60 an ounce and the September copper contract was down less than a penny at US$3.79 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)
Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press
