Markets See Gradual Gains Across the Board

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) finished Monday (April 23) on a strong note when it closed at 15,552.06 with a 67.74-point boost.

Tuesday (April 24) morning the index got a slow start, gaining 11.29 points to reach 15,563.35 early in the day.

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) flopped 7.55 points at Monday’s close, ending the day at 797.41. The index saw minimal movement on Tuesday morning as it rose 0.87 points to hit 798.28.

Energy led the way with a 1.4-percent gain on Monday as hikes in US crude oil prices pushed the sector’s constituents higher. Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) grew 2.2 percent, but the TSX saw its largest gains from The Stars Group (TSX:TSGI), a gaming company that rose 15.2 percent. Meanwhile, some of its biggest losses came from Aurora Cannabis (TSX:ACB), down 6.9 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) felt minimal losses on Monday when it closed at 24,448.69, down 14.25 points. It pushed back into the green on Tuesday morning when it picked up 62.06 points to reach 24,510.75.

The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) made marginal moves into the green on Monday as it gained 0.15 points to close at 2,670.29. It grew gradually on Tuesday morning, ballooning 6.88 points to hit 2,677.17.

While the S&P 500 was boosted by a 1.1-percent gain in telecoms, a 0.4-percent drop in tech dragged down its gains. A 2.4-percent boost in Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) shares brought the healthcare sector forward following an upgraded rating from Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS). Ironically, Goldman Sachs was the Dow’s worst performer on Monday as the investment bank dropped 2.1 percent.

Note: All numbers shown above were accurate as of 10:00 a.m. EST.

Daily metals

Gold fell flat by Monday’s close as it hit US$1,324 per ounce. It started to make a comeback Tuesday morning as it strengthened to US$1,330.70. Silver flatlined on Monday when it fell to US$16.59 per ounce. It gradually pushed back up to the green on Tuesday morning as it reached US$16.78.

Copper saw small losses when it closed at US$3.13 per pound on Monday. The metal found new strength on Tuesday morning when it reached US$3.18.

Major miner news

• Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:ABX): Barrick Gold has reported its Q1 results for 2018, which include revenues of US$1.79 billion and net earnings attributable to equity holders of US$158 million, along with adjusted net earnings of US$170 million. Gold production clocked in at 1.05 million ounces, while copper production reached 85 million pounds.

• Anglo American (LSE:AAL): Anglo American announced its Q1 production results for 2018. They feature a 4-percent increase in total production on a copper equivalent basis compared with Q1 2017.

• Anglo American (LSE:AAL): The company also gave an update on the inspection of its Minas-Rio iron ore pipeline in Brazil, which it anticipates will take 90 days to complete. Its current expectation is that operations will resume in Q4 2018, and will reduce EBITDA for 2018 by $300 to $400 million.

• Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX): The company has announced its Q1 results for 2018, which include consolidated sales of 993 million pounds of copper, 610,000 ounces of gold and 24 million pounds of molybdenum. It also listed net income attributable to common stock of $692 million for Q1.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.