Canadian equities closed higher on Tuesday as gains in Energy, Consumer Staples and Materials stocks helped lift the benchmark.
At the Toronto market close, the S&P/TSX Composite was up 0.44%.
The session's strongest performers included Ero Copper Corp (TSX:ERO), which climbed 10.29% or 4.08 points to finish at 43.74. Aya Gold & Silver Inc (TSX:AYA) advanced 6.65% or 1.81 points to end the day at 29.01, and Exchange Income Corporation (TSX:EIF) rose 6.61% or 6.47 points to close at 104.36.
On the downside, Pet Valu Holdings Ltd (TSX:PET) dropped 13.97% or 2.76 points to close at 17.00. The companys shares fell to all-time lows in the session. AbraSilver Resource Corp (TSX:ABRA) was down 5.70% or 1.07 points to 17.69, and Aecon Group Inc. (TSX:ARE) slipped 5.51% or 2.92 points to 50.08.
Market breadth on the Toronto Stock Exchange showed 492 advancing issues against 474 decliners, while 81 stocks finished unchanged.
Volatility eased as the S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which reflects implied volatility for S&P/TSX Composite options, declined 7.10% to 15.83, marking a new one-month low for that measure.
Commodities moved unevenly. Gold futures for June delivery fell 0.16% or 7.78 to $4,720.92 a troy ounce. By contrast, crude oil for June delivery jumped 4.33% or 4.25 to $102.32 a barrel, while the July Brent contract gained 3.40% or 3.54 to trade at $107.75 a barrel.
Currency movements were modest: CAD/USD was unchanged 0.17% to 0.73, and CAD/EUR was unchanged 0.20% to 0.62. The US Dollar Index Futures rose 0.36% to 98.18.
For investors monitoring individual names, the disparity between the day's winners and losers was notable. Metals and resource-related equities showed strength, while select retail and construction-related names experienced pronounced weakness. Tools that quantify valuation may be used to assess whether beaten-down stocks offer potential value: one such Fair Value calculator cited in the market commentary uses a combination of 17 industry valuation models to evaluate stocks, including Aecon (ARE).
Market takeaways
- Broad market closed higher with the S&P/TSX Composite up 0.44%.
- Mining and income-oriented names produced the sessions largest gains; retail and construction-related stocks were among the weakest.
- Volatility eased to a one-month low while crude oil and the US dollar futures strengthened.
Note: All percentage moves, point changes and price levels are taken from the market close figures reported for the session.