Morning Market Breakdown, February 21: TSX Opens Higher

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) ended at 15,439.44 points on Tuesday (February 20), 13.2 points lower than its previous close.

But Wednesday (February 21) kicked off with a promising forecast and a 116.09-point jump, with the index hitting 15,555.53 points as of 10:20 AM EST.

Tuesday’s rockiness has been attributed to weakness in resource stocks, with Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD,NYSE:EGO) going down 2.1 percent to $1.37, and Osisko Gold Royalties (TSX:OR) dropping 8.1 percent to $12.29. Also taking a hit yesterday were Klondex Mines (TSX:KDX,NYSEAMERICAN:KLDX), which dropped 4.6 percent to $1.87, and Osisko Mining (TSX:OSK), which dipped 6.9 percent to $2.83.

Meanwhile, the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) had a positive Tuesday as it gained 2.65 points, leaving it at 832.82 points by the end of day. The TSXV stayed strong going into Wednesday morning, and was up 1.77 points as of 10:20 a.m. EST, putting it at 834.59 points.

Down in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) had a tough Tuesday due to rising interest rates and declining Walmart (NYSE:WMT) shares, which led to a drop to 24,964.75 points.

The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) had a similarly hard day on Tuesday with a 15.96-point drop, which brought it to 2,716.26 points. Wednesday morning was much kinder to both markets, with the Dow climbing 97.02 points to 25,061.77 points, and the S&P gaining 13.53 points to 2,729.79 points as of 10:20 a.m. EST.

Metals price action

Gold saw a drop in price on Tuesday, falling $24.10 to US$1,332.10 an ounce. The metal took a minor slip Wednesday morning as well, coming in at US$1,331.42 as of 10:20 a.m. EST.

As of 5:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, silver sat at US$16.45 per ounce, but jumped to US$16.62 as of 10:20 AM EST on Wednesday. On the copper front, the price was at US$3.19 per pound on Tuesday, but fell to US$3.17 Wednesday morning.

Major miner news

• Tahoe Resources (TSX:THO,NYSE:TAHO) — The results have come in for a preliminary economic assessment for La Arena II, a copper-gold porphyry project in Peru. Highlights from the assessment include a 21-year mine life and average annual after-tax cashflow of $273 million.

• Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS,NASDAQ:PAAS) — The company announced its 2017 Q4 and year-end results, which show that it generated $79.3 million in net cash from operating activities in Q4 alone. The press release also highlights the company’s silver production in Q4, which totaled 6.58 million ounces, making it 4 percent higher than the year-ago quarter.

• Glencore (LSE:GLEN) — Glencore said its 2017 performance was its “strongest on record,” with positive cashflow generation reflected in a 49-percent increase in funds from operations. 

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