TSX Ends On Buoyant Note On Widespread Buying

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a buoyant note on Wednesday as oil prices rose amid hopes of a deep production cut, and on optimism some of the countries severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic are likely to flatten the infection curve sometime soon.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 311.57 points, or 2.29%, at 13,925.71, about 40 points off the day's high of 13,964.92. The index touched a low of 13,588.40 in early trades.

Real estate stocks rose sharply, lifting the Capped Real Estate index up by 6.67%. With key information technology stocks notching up strong gains, the technology index shot up 5.11%.

Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary indices climbed up 4.48% and 4.16%, respectively. There were impressive gains for several stocks in financial, industrial and utilities sections. The materials space saw stock specific activity.

Air Canada (AC.TO) soared more than 13%, extending recent gains, on fairly strong volumes. Husky Energy (HSE.TO) climbed up 10.7%, while First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) and MEG Energy (MEG.TO) gained 6 to 8%.

Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) ralllied 4.25%, while Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) gained 2 to 3%.

Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) and Enbridge (ENB.TO) were among the other stocks to post sharp gains.

On the economic front, a report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) showed the seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts in Canada fell 7.3% from a month earlier to 195,174 units in March 2020. However, it was well above market forecasts of 180,000 units.

Meanwhile, the value of building permits in Canada dropped 7.3% from a month earlier to C$ 8.6 billion in February 2020, following a downwardly revised 3.3% increase in January. The value of residential permits dropped 7.3% to C$ 5.3 billion in February, from a month earlier.

U.S. stocks closed sharply higher amid optimism some of the countries hit hardest by the virus pandemic are flattening the infection curve.

The Dow and the S&P 500 both soared 3.4%, while the Nasdaq spiked 3.4%.

Data from Johns Hopkins University shows confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. have reached more than 400,000, the most in the world.

However, the latest data from the university also shows that the number of new cases has decreased in recent days after reaching a peak last Friday.

The number of new coronavirus cases has also recently shown significant downturns in Italy and Spain, which currently have the most confirmed cases in Europe.

Adding to the positive sentiment, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told Fox News the U.S. could see the "beginning of a turnaround" after a "bad week for deaths" this week.

Fauci noted deaths are a lagging indicator and pointed to the decrease in the number of new cases and a lower rate of hospitalizations.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region and Europe turned in a mixed performance.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended up $1.46, or about 6.2%, at $25.09 a barrel, after spurting about 12% towards the closing minutes of the session.

Gold futures for June ended up just $0.60, or about 0.04%, at $1,684.30 an ounce, despite rising to a high of $1,695.80 in mid-morning trades.