Canadian Stocks Move Mostly Higher After Seeing Early Weakness

(RTTNews) - After moving to the downside early in the session, Canadian stocks showed a notable turnaround over the course of the trading day on Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index bounced well off its early lows, eventually ending the day up 94.66 or 0.4 percent at 21,548.43 percent.

The rebound by Canadian stocks came as U.S. treasury yields turned lower as the day progressed after extending a recent upward move in early trading.

The volatility in the bond market came amid the release of slew of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level in over 50 years last week.

Energy stocks helped lead the turnaround on the day, with the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index jumping by 1.8 percent.

The strength among energy stocks came despite a modest decrease by the price of crude oil, as crude for January delivery edged down $0.11 to $78.39 a barrel.

Healthcare stocks also turned in a strong performance, driving the S&P/TSX Capped Health Care Index up by 1.8 percent.

Technology and real estate stocks also saw significant strength, while consumer staples stocks moved sharply lower.