Canada Stocks: TSX touches near 2-week high on earnings optimism; Iamgold leads gains

Iamgold

18/10/2022 16:03

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      Canadian housing starts rise in September
    

  
 (Updates prices, adds comment)
    By Shashwat Chauhan and Amruta Khandekar
       Oct 18 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index touched a
near two-week high on Tuesday, helped by optimism around
earnings, while shares of Iamgold Corp jumped on sale of its
interest in some gold mines.
        At 10:40 a.m. ET (14:40 GMT), the Toronto Stock
Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index  .GSPTSE  was up 162.1
points, or 0.87%, at 18,783.12.
        All sector indexes were trading higher except for energy
 .SPTTEN , which was hit by a decline in oil prices.  O/R .
    As gold prices rose, the materials sector  .GSPTTMT , which
includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer
companies, rose 0.4%.  GOL/ 
        Iamgold Corp  IMG.TO  added 15.7%, leading gains on the
TSX, after Zijin Mining said its unit agreed to buy a stake in
Rosebel Gold Mines for $360 million from the Canadian company.
         Upbeat earnings from Goldman Sachs  GS.N  and Johnson &
Johnson  JNJ.N  on Tuesday fuelled hopes that corporate earnings
could ease jitters around a potential recession triggered by
aggressive central bank actions to quell inflation.
        "We are seeing people are starting to feel a little
better about earnings so far, which is a positive and I think
the setup was that people got way too bearish, too fast," said
Greg Taylor, portfolio manager at Purpose Investments.
        Adding to the upbeat mood was also the reversal of UK's
fiscal policy that had shaken markets last month.
    The Bank of Canada (BoC) will raise its overnight rate by 50
basis points on Oct. 26, a smaller amount than at previous
meetings, but will get rates to an even higher peak than
expected last month, according to economists polled by Reuters.
        The BoC has raised interest rates by 300 bps this year,
reaching a 14-year high.
    Canadian housing starts rose 11% in September from August to
their highest level in 10 months on a jump in multi-unit urban
starts, data from the national housing agency showed on Tuesday.
 (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Amruta Khandekar in
Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
 ((Shashwat.Chauhan@thomsonreuters.com;))