TSX Ends Marginally Up After Choppy Ride

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market suffered a setback of sorts post noon on Wednesday, and after struggling in the red for much of the final two hours of the session, eventually managed to close above the unchanged line.

Rising optimism about U.S.-China trade talks supported the market, a sell-off in energy stocks due to weak crude oil prices wiped off its gains.

Ahead of the meetings, people briefed on the trade talks told the Financial Times top U.S. and Chinese officials have resolved most of the issues standing in the way of a deal to end their long-running trade dispute.

Officials are still haggling over how to implement and enforce the agreement, however, with Myron Brilliant, executive vice-president for international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, telling reporters the last 10 percent is the "hardest part."

The Financial Times said the two sides remain apart on two key issues: the fate of existing U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and the terms of an enforcement mechanism demanded by Washington to ensure that China abides by the deal.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 15.99 points, or 0.1%, at 16,279.86, after scaling a high of 16,337.96, its best so far in 2019, and a low of 16,244.50 intraday.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) gained 0.4 to 0.6%.

Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) and Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) gained 1% and 0.82%, respectively.

Consumer discretionary stocks Magna International (MG.TO), Dollarama Inc. (DOL.TO) and Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS.TO) gained 1 to 1.5%.

In the information technology space, Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) advanced 1.8%, CGI Inc. (GIB.A.TO) gained nearly 1%, Descartes Systems Group (DGS.TO) ended 1.7% up and Kinaxis Inc. (KXS.TO) rallied 2.5%, while Constellation Software (CSU.TO) declined nearly 2%.

Among pot stocks, Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) declined 1.3% and CannTrust Holdings (TRST.TO) shed 3.1%. Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) edged up 0.55%.

Among energy stocks, Encana Corporation (ECA.TO) ended lower by 4.7%, Cresent Point Energy (CPG.TO) shed 3.5%, Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) declined 1.6%, Baytex Energy (BTE.TO) shed 3.1% and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) eased by about 1%.

In the materials space, Teck Resourcews (TECK.B.TO) ended 2.6% down. Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) lost about 1%, while Kinross Gold Corporation (K.TO) ended 0.9% up.

Ahead of the meetings, people briefed on the trade talks told the Financial Times top U.S. and Chinese officials have resolved most of the issues standing in the way of a deal to end their long-running trade dispute.

Officials are still haggling over how to implement and enforce the agreement, however, with Myron Brilliant, executive vice-president for international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, telling reporters the last 10 percent is the "hardest part."

The Financial Times said the two sides remain apart on two key issues: the fate of existing U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and the terms of an enforcement mechanism demanded by Washington to ensure that China abides by the deal.

On Wall Street, stocks ended mostly higher despite coming off the day's highs. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 recorded their best closing levels in about six months.

Optimism about the latest round of trade talks between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He lifted the market to a positive close.

A report from payroll processor ADP showing much weaker than expected private sector job growth in the month of March limited market's gains. ADP said private sector employment rose by 129,000 jobs in March after jumping by an upwardly revised 197,000 jobs in February.

Economists had expected employment to increase by 170,000 jobs compared to the addition of 183,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

A separate report from the Institute for Supply Management showed service sector growth in the U.S. cooled off in March, dropping to 56.1, after jumping to 59.7 a month earlier.

European markets ended higher, extending recent gains, on trade optimism and some fairly encouraging data from eurozone.

Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for May ended down $0.12, or 0.2%, at $62.46 a barrel, after rising to a fresh five-month high of $62.98 a barrel.

Gold futures for June ended down $0.10, at $1,295.30 an ounce.

Silver futures for May ended up $0.041, at $15.102 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $2.9485 per pound, gaining $0.0430 for the session.