TSX Ends Sharply Higher On Stimulus Announcements

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended on a high note on Wednesday, as stocks rallied sharply after U.S. U.S. Senate leaders and White House officials have finally reached an agreement on a $2 trillion fiscal stimulus package intended to provide economic relief during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The sentiment also got a boost after Canada passed a multi-billion dollar relief package to respond to the coronavirus slowdown.

The relief package allows the government to spend C$107 billion in emergency aid and economic stimulus to assist Canadians struggling financially. The package includes C$52 billion in direct support for individuals and companies, versus an initial cost estimate of C$27 billion. It also includes C$55 billion in temporary tax deferrals for households and businesses.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which soared to 13,690.39, gaining more than 1,000 points at one stage, eventually ended the session with a gain of 568.15 points, or 4.52%, at 13,139.23.

On Tuesday, the index ended with a gain of almost 12%.

Shares from utilities, real estate, consumer discretionary, energy and financial sectors ended with strong gains. Healthcare stocks started off on a somewhat subdued note, but gained in strength as the session progressed. Telecom and consumer staples stocks too posted impressive gains.

Air Canada soared nearly 16% on strong volumes. Cenvous Energy (CVE.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) gained 9.5 to 10.5%.

Manulife Financial Corp (MFC.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO), Whitecap Resources (WCP.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), TC Energy (TRP.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) moved up 4 to 8%.

The U.S. market also ended on a firm note, despite paring most of its gains. The Dow ended up 2.4%, the S&P 500 gained 1.2% and the Nasdaq declined 0.5%.

Markets across Europe and Asia-Pacific region closed with strong gains.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May ended up $0.48, or about 2%, at $24.49 a barrel.

Gold futures for April ended down $27.40, or about 1.7%, at $1,633.40 an ounce.

On Tuesday, gold futures gained $93.20, or 0.6%, after having surged up $83, or about 5.6% on Monday.

Silver futures for May ended up $0.616 at $14.873 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $2.2040 per pound, gaining $0.0240 for the session.