{"id":209806,"date":"2019-04-13T05:57:14","date_gmt":"2019-04-13T09:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=209806"},"modified":"2019-04-13T05:57:14","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T09:57:14","slug":"tsx-hits-new-high-for-2019-as-market-rises-on-support-from-energy-and-financials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/04\/13\/tsx-hits-new-high-for-2019-as-market-rises-on-support-from-energy-and-financials\/","title":{"rendered":"TSX hits new high for 2019 as market rises on support from energy and financials"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The S&P\/TSX composite index closed up 81.06 points at 16,480.53, after reaching 16,487.14 shortly after the open. That’s just a half a percentage point off the all-time high set last summer. (File Photo By Halava – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TORONTO \u2013 Canada’s main stock index set another 2019 high Friday on gains by the energy sector and a strong start to first-quarter results in the banking sector.<\/p>\n

The S&P\/TSX composite index closed up 81.06 points at 16,480.53, after reaching 16,487.14 shortly after the open. That’s just a half a percentage point off the all-time high set last summer.<\/p>\n

The market was driven by a strong performance from the energy sector on the back of higher oil prices and a blockbuster US$33-billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum by Chevron, the largest such deal in a decade, says Cavan Yie, a portfolio manager at Manulife Asset Management.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that’s a pretty big vote of confidence for the sector where you see a global energy company plowing that much capital and taking that much of a bet on an investment in this point in the cycle,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

The energy sector was led by Encana Corp. and Crescent Point Energy Corp, which rose 5.33 and 5.22 per cent respectively.<\/p>\n

The transaction also helped market sentiment as whole, he noted, as all 11 major sectors gained ground.<\/p>\n

Oil prices rose with the May crude contract up 31 cents at US$63.89 per barrel and the natural gas contract was down 0.4 of a cent at $2.66 per mmBTU.<\/p>\n

The influential financials sector also gained on the day after J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo got the quarterly results rolling by beating analyst forecasts after posting solid profits. Toronto-Dominion Bank was up 1.07 per cent, followed by the National Bank of Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cPotentially you’re seeing perhaps the markets saying that the results might be stronger across the board than expected,\u201d Yie said.<\/p>\n

Analysts had predicted that overall U.S. corporate earnings would decrease about 2.5 per cent on the S&P 500 for the first year-over-year fall in about three years.<\/p>\n

Yie said gains this year in Canada have been driven by the two sectors that have been huge laggards over the past year or two.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re seeing a big catch up to start the year which is why you’re seeing the TSX outperforming many other developed indices globally.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Toronto market rose for the 13th week of 2019, gaining 15 per cent year-to-date and up almost 20 per cent from December’s low.<\/p>\n

U.S. markets have similarly recovered and are nearing new highs.<\/p>\n

Yie said there’s more room to run because of the supportive interest rate environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are in a Goldilocks situation where inflation is not going to spiral out of control, interest rates stay low and growth remains in a positive and healthy range, I think that’s a good environment for equities.\u201d<\/p>\n

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 269.25 points at 26,412.30. The S&P 500 index was up 19.09 points at 2,907.41, while the Nasdaq composite was up 36.80 at 7,984.16.<\/p>\n

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 75.02 cents US, up from an average of 74.75 cents US on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The June gold contract was up $1.90 at $1,295.20 an ounce and the May copper contract was up 5.9 cents at US$2.95 a pound.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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