S&P/TSX composite sees modest gains helped by higher gold prices, U.S. markets mixed

TORONTO – Strength in the materials sector helped Canada’s main stock index finish in positive territory on Tuesday, while U.S. markets posted mixed results.

Brian Madden, chief investment officer with First Avenue Investment Counsel, said that Canada’s benchmark index benefited from some “leadership in the resource space” amid a rise in gold prices. The February gold contract was up US$18.50 at US$4,236.20 an ounce.

He said that while gold prices were moving higher, “it’s not outside the normal range of daily price moves that we’ve been seeing.”

Investors were also gearing up for the Bank of Canada’s final scheduled interest rate decision of the year on Wednesday. Madden said that he doesn’t expect any surprises from the meeting.

“I think the Bank of Canada is going to sit tight, and they’re likely to sit tight for the next several meetings frankly,” he said.

Elsewhere on the TSX, Groupe Dynamite Inc. shares gained 7.29 per cent after it reported that its third-quarter profit and revenue rose compared with a year ago as its comparable-store sales climbed 31.6 per cent.

Following the results, Madden said the company is doing “extremely well” in a “difficult and competitive category.”

“For the last four or five quarters it’s posted very strong results, beating analyst estimates and showing very compelling growth compared to the prior year,” he said.

“Fashion is fickle, and this is a tough category, especially with the relentless rise of e-commerce.”

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 74.40 points at 31,244.37.

The U.S. stock market has run to the edge of its records in part because of the near assumption that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut rates again on Wednesday.

“As ever, the press conference and the accompanying language in the statement will be closely scrutinized as to whether it’s incrementally dovish or hawkish,” Madden said.

The big question is what the Fed will say about where interest rates will go after that. Many on Wall Street are bracing for talk aimed at tamping down expectations for more cuts in 2026.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Exxon Mobil climbed two per cent after increasing its forecast for profit over the next five years, thanks in part to strength for its fields in the Permian basin in the United States and off Guyana’s shore.

“They tweaked their earnings and cash flow forecasts over the next five years by about US$5 billion. So that’s put a bid to the shares, and I think it’s moving the U.S. energy sector to some degree,” Madden said.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 179.03 points at 47,560.29. The S&P 500 index was down six points at 6,840.51, while the Nasdaq composite was up 30.58 points at 23,576.49.