(Toronto) The Toronto Stock Exchange’s benchmark index closed higher on Tuesday, buoyed by stocks in the energy and battery metals sectors, as crude oil prices hit the US$70 mark on Tuesday. barrel.
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Energy stocks, along with those related to other commodities, helped propel the TSX into the green after a low-volume day, said Mike Archibald, vice president and portfolio manager at AGF Investments.
Oil has been trading for weeks in a range between the highs of US$60 and the lows of US$70, he recalled, and Tuesday was no exception as the price of oil rallied to the above US$70 per barrel.
The rise came after Saudi Arabia and Russia announced on Monday that they were extending production cuts from July through August, to seek to boost the price of oil.
“It remains to be seen whether Russia and Saudi Arabia will follow through on this, but yes, it certainly has … an impact on the price of energy today,” Archibald said.
Oil is still caught between the downtrend of the slowing global economy and the ongoing cuts, which are pushing prices higher, he explained. “It continues to be a battle. »
The rest of the week will see the release of employment data from the United States and Canada, which will help inform central banks’ upcoming interest rate decisions, Archibald said. Meanwhile, earnings season is fast approaching, and investors will be studying second-quarter reports from U.S. companies amid a slowing economy.
In recent weeks, there has been a slight return to underperforming areas of the market, but it is not yet clear how long this rotation will last, Archibald noted, adding that earnings are likely to affect this situation.
“Financial stocks have done quite well over the past week, and so have energy stocks,” he said. We will have to see whether or not this persists as we move forward into the second half of the year. »
In the currency market, the Canadian dollar traded at an average price of 75.65 US cents, up from 75.53 US cents on Friday.
Crude oil prices rose US$1.21 to US$71.00 a barrel, while natural gas rose 4 cents to US$2.75 per million BTU.
The price of gold rose US$4.10 to US$1933.60 per ounce and that of copper depreciated less than US$1 cent to US$3.79 per pound.
