Canada's equity market finished the trading day in positive territory on Wednesday, with the S&P/TSX Composite closing up 1.24% in Toronto as gains in the Materials, Healthcare and Financials sectors provided upward momentum.
At the sector and stock level, a handful of resource names posted the strongest advances. Sprott Inc. (TSX:SII) was the session's top performer, jumping 19.77% or 34.27 points to finish at 207.65. Precious metals exposure was also evident in the session's winners list as Americas Silver Corp (TSX:USA) climbed 17.48% or 1.32 points to 8.87, and SSR Mining Inc (TSX:SSRM) rose 15.65% or 6.02 points to end the day at 44.49.
Not all large-cap names participated in the rally. Vermilion Energy Inc. (TSX:VET) led declines, slipping 12.93% or 2.40 points to close at 16.16. iA Financial Corporation Inc (TSX:IAG) dropped 9.54% or 16.79 points to finish at 159.21, and Stella-Jones Inc. (TSX:SJ) fell 7.77% or 6.49 points to 77.01.
Breadth on the Toronto Stock Exchange tilted positive, with 645 issues advancing compared with 329 that fell. Another 68 stocks ended the session unchanged.
Volatility indicators moved lower during the session. The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which gauges implied volatility for options on the S&P/TSX Composite, declined 3.60% to 16.32.
Commodities showed mixed signals. Gold Futures for June delivery were up 2.96% or 135.20 to $4,703.70 a troy ounce. Energy prices fell sharply, with crude oil for June delivery down 6.62% or 6.77 to hit $95.50 a barrel, and the July Brent oil contract sliding 7.58% or 8.33 to trade at $101.54 a barrel.
Currency moves were modest on the day. The Canadian dollar was largely stable versus major peers, with CAD/USD unchanged 0.08% to 0.73 and CAD/EUR unchanged 0.54% to 0.62.
On broader foreign-exchange and futures measures, the US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.43% at 97.89.
Market takeaway: The session was characterized by strong gains among materials and metals-related stocks that outpaced losses in energy and select financials, while implied volatility eased and commodities diverged, with higher gold and lower oil prices.