Canada’s main stock index was flat at midday on Tuesday as energy shares were lifted by higher oil prices.
The energy sector jumped nearly 2% after oil prices rose above $65 a barrel, supported by hopes that the U.S.-China trade deal will bolster oil demand in 2020 and the prospect of lower U.S. crude supplies.
The main index opened lower, with declines led by Canfor Corp which tumbled 21%, after it rejected Great Pacific Capital Corp’s proposal to take it private.
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Weighing on sentiment was data that showed Canadian factory sales decreased in October on lower sales in transportation equipment and fabricated metal products.
The lower activity at auto assembly plants and parts plants was due in part to the United Auto Workers strike in the United States.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Whitecap Resources, which jumped 4.2% and Baytex Energy Co , which rose 4%.
The most heavily traded shares by volume were Aurora Cannabis, Touchstone Exploration and Nemaska Lithium.
Wall Street
U.S. stocks paused after a four-day rally, but still hovered around record levels on Tuesday, while a fall in Boeing’s shares weighed on the Dow as the crisis surrounding the planemaker’s 737 MAX jet deepened.
The S&P 500 edged to a record high for the fourth straight session and was set to build on its 27% gain this year, driven mainly by expectations of a U.S.-China trade deal, a dovish Federal Reserve and upbeat economic indicators.
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Reinforcing confidence in the U.S. economy, data from the Federal Reserve showed manufacturing output rose more than expected in November, as the end of a strike at General Motors plants boosted auto production.
However, a 1% fall in Boeing dragged on the Dow Jones . The company said it would suspend production of its best-selling aircraft in January in its biggest assembly-line halt in more than two decades.
The energy sector was among the biggest gainer on the S&P 500, tracking a rise in oil prices.
Gains in all three major indexes over the last three days have largely been driven by an interim U.S.-China trade agreement, which was announced on Friday.
However, with little chance of another major update on trade before the end of the year, analysts say the market will likely stay around present levels.
“U.S. stocks could start feeling trade optimism fatigue as we near the holidays,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at online trading broker OANDA in New York, adding that a significant pullback was unlikely.
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At 10:31 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 36.25 points, or 0.13%, at 28,272.14, the S&P 500 was up 4.31 points, or 0.14%, at 3,195.76 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 3.40 points, or 0.04%, at 8,817.63.
Netflix Inc rose 3.5% after the streaming service provider said its growth overseas is accelerating, on the back of its Asia-Pacific business.
Johnson & Johnson gained 0.9% after reports that Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock.
While there is no major economic news due this week, a historic vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, likely to result in the impeachment of President Donald Trump, poses another risk for investment decisions in the run-up to the 2020 election.
Reuters
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