AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
The S&P/TSX Composite Index, Canada’s benchmark index, added ~61 points or 0.35% and settled higher at 17,567.42. The index is up for the second straight day.
At the close, the index featured a dividend yield of 3.35% and traded at a Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio of 19.60x.
Despite a positive close reported by broader index, five out eight TSX sectors were down. Information Technology sector gained 1.85%, followed by Metals and Mining up 0.4%, and Financials up 0.09%. Energy sector was the biggest loser on Wednesday, down 2.5%, followed by Utilities - down 0.90%, and Industrials – down 0.67%.
S&P/TSX Composite 5-day Price Chart (as on December 16, 2020); Source: EODHD/Others (Thomson Reuters)
Stocks to Watch*
- Top Gainers: Haivision Systems Inc. (up 29.50%), Neovasc Inc. (up 24%) and Premier Gold Mines Limited (up 19.48%) respectively.
- Top Losers: Prairie Provident Resources Inc (down 25%), NexJ Systems Inc. (down 12.38%), and NXT Energy Solutions Inc. (down 10.6%) respectively.
- Volume Leaders: Air Canada, Canadian Natural Resources Limited and Premier Gold Mines Limited
On Wall Street: Key indices of the United Stated added more muscle, with the S&P 500 index up 6.55 points at 3,701.17, the NYSE Composite up 6.6 points at 14,408.94 while the Nasdaq composite gained 63.12 points at 12,658.19.
In a major milestone, Bitcoin surpassed US$ 20,000 for the first time. The world’s largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin surged 6% on Wednesday to US$ 20,676. Bitcoin has almost tripled in the past one year.
Commodity News*
American Oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased 0.42% to US$47.82/bbl. While Brent Oil Futures added 0.63% to US$ 51.08/bbl.
Gold January contract increased slightly by 0.20% to US$ 1,859.10/oz.
Canadian Dollar declined against US counterpart, down 0.36% to 0.7844 on Wednesday.
* All details on December 16, 2020, after markets close
