TORONTO – Strength in technology and industrial stocks helped Canada’s main stock index move higher Wednesday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed, led by a 1.3 per cent gain for the Nasdaq.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 29.87 points at 25,311.50.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 130.92 points at 44,156.73. The S&P 500 index was up 37.13 points at 6,086.37, while the Nasdaq composite was up 252.56 points at 20,009.34.
Tech stocks drove markets higher after an announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump about Stargate, a joint venture to build up artificial intelligence infrastructure in the U.S.
Many AI and semiconductor stocks rallied “because of the potential for more thought-out AI infrastructure that’s government-funded,” said Stephen Duench, vice-president and portfolio manager for AGF Investments Inc.
“And … a lot of these executive orders that Trump did, some of them were about taking the handcuffs off of AI development,” he added.
The other main market driver Wednesday was Netflix, said Duench.
“Netflix had phenomenal subscriber growth,” he said, noting the company will soon stop reporting subscriber numbers as it tries to move its focus toward other business metrics.
The company reported stronger profits than expected and said it’s raising prices, while live events helped it add almost 19 million subscribers last quarter. Netflix shares jumped almost 10 per cent Wednesday.
Cyclical stocks continued to perform well too in what Duench called “the calm after the storm,” with Trump’s inauguration out of the way.
“You’re seeing a lot of cyclicals doing better … a lot of industrials on either side of the border,” he said.
However, with questions swirling about possible tariffs, “the only thing we’re certain of is that there’s going to be uncertainty with Trump,” Duench said.
Thursday will see the latest data on Canadian retail sales, another piece of information for the Bank of Canada ahead of its next interest rate decision.
Markets expect the Bank of Canada to cut its key rate further next week, said Duench, while a pause from the U.S. Federal Reserve is a “sure thing.”
“The market is just very sensitive to the direction of interest rates,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 69.59 cents US compared with 69.61 cents US on Tuesday.
The March crude oil contract was down 39 cents at US$75.44 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was up 20 cents at US$3.96 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was up US$11.70 at US$2,770.90 an ounce and the March copper contract was down four cents at US$4.30 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
