Daily Wrap-up: Gold leads but equities generally buoyant

Gold leads but equities generally buoyant
Gold prices along with other gains for the materials group helped the main TSX index close higher again Wednesday.

The 1.2 per cent rise for materials was joined by strong gains for healthcare, utilities, energy and financials. Nine of the index’s groups closed higher with industrials slightly lower.

Wall Street was split as the Dow slipped back from its record high in the previous session but remained above the 20k mark; the S&P500 and Nasdaq closed higher.

European and Asian indexes were largely positive.
 
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 55.24 (0.36 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed down 35.95 (0.18 per cent)
Oil is trending higher (Brent $55.16, WTI $52.39 at 4.55pm)
Gold is trending higher (1243.60 at 4.55pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7603
 
Federal funds for Bombardier but less than it wanted
The Canadian government announced Wednesday that it was injecting $372.5 million into Bombardier, a third of the cash the aerospace firm had originally requested but CEO Alain Bellemare said the level of support is right.

The interest-free loan is also a third of the provincial government in Quebec’s assistance for the firm; which prompted criticism from the opposition parties with PQ leader Jean-Francois Lisee saying that the province has once again lost out. He said that Ottawa had helped auto makers in Ontario greater assistance.

The move has also been criticized by Brazil, which complained to the WTO that the cash from the federal and provincial governments breached the rules, but Bellemare said he was confident that was not the case.
 
Oil firms fearful of Trump border tax
Canada’s oil industry could be badly hit by a US-imposed border tax and shares in the energy sector have lost ground since a surge following the election of Donald Trump.

Although the US refineries that are set-up to deal with Canada’s heavy crude rather than alternatives, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers is concerned that President Trump’s team will push ahead with taxes without realizing the impact on US refineries.

“What we’re still trying to grapple with is how well these Americans who are drafting this legislation really understand their own refining complexes,”  Jon Stringham, CAPP’s manager of fiscal policy and economics told the Globe and Mail.