Traders Michael Milano, left, and John Bowers work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Aug. 1.Richard Drew/The Associated Press
Canada's main stock index rose on Tuesday as gains for companies reporting strong earnings, including Air Canada and e-commerce company Shopify Inc , more than offset losses for energy shares.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed up 58.23 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 15,502.10. Eight of the index's 10 main groups ended higher
Air Canada surged to an all-time high after its second-quarter profit handily beat analysts' estimates. The stock was up 9.6 per cent at $21.74.
Its smaller rival, WestJet Airlines Ltd, also topped expectations, and its shares gained 3 per cent to $25.60.
Shopify, the Ottawa-based company that counts Procter & Gamble Co among its customers, jumped 13.7 per cent to $130.61 after reporting a smaller-than-expected loss and a 75-per-cent jump in revenue.
Toronto-based Thomson Reuters rose 5.4 per cent to $60.17 after the information services provider reported higher-than-expected second-quarter earnings, helped by demand for market data, and increased its full-year forecast for margins and adjusted earnings per share.
A gauge of world stocks advanced on Tuesday after scoring its longest monthly winning streak in over a decade on signs of an improving global economy and solid corporate earnings, while the U.S. dollar inched higher from 15-month lows.
Tepid U.S. inflation along with political turmoil in Washington has dented expectations of another Federal Reserve interest rate hike in coming months. Improving data in other major economies around the world has also served to push the greenback down nearly 11 per cent from January peaks.
Preliminary estimates released by the European Union's statistics agency showed euro zone growth remained robust in the second quarter after a strong reading in the first three months of the year.
A measure of U.S. factory activity fell from a near three-year high in July amid a drop in new orders, while consumer spending barely rose in the prior month, setting the economy on a moderate growth path in the third quarter.
"I won't say it is 100 per cent back but Europe is certainly in a good situation compared to where they were," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago.
"What you are starting to see is a little more comfort in spreading your risk across countries whereas for a while it was pretty much invest in the U.S. because it is the best of the weaklings."
The U.S. dollar's decline, low inflation and robust global growth has stoked appetite for stocks, however, with the MSCI ACWI index extending its run after the index in July logged its longest streak of monthly gains since 2003-04.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.36 per cent and the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.62 per cent.
European shares rose after two straight monthly declines, aided by gains in oil and financial shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average racked up a fifth straight record high on Tuesday and neared the 22,000 mark, powered by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and other banks.
Apple rose 0.89 per cent as Wall Street awaited the largest publicly listed company's quarterly report after the bell, with the iPhone maker expected by analysts to post a 6-per-cent rise in revenue.
The S&P 500 information technology index is up 22 per cent year to date, leading other sectors.
The Dow has risen 11 per cent in 2017, even as Wall Street loses confidence that President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress this year will cut taxes and increase spending on infrastructure.
"The market takes the good and immediately discounts the bad," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management. "It's an accomplishment, given that all of this has happened with the backdrop of no progress in Washington on anything."
With two thirds of S&P 500 companies having reported their second-quarter earnings, 72 per cent have beaten Wall Street's expectations, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. In a typical quarter, 64 percent of companies beat expectations.
Those results may reassure investors worried about high valuations. The S&P 500 is trading at about 18 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months, above its 10-year average of 14 times, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream.
The Dow rose 0.33 per cent to a record-high close of 21,963.92. It pierced through the 20,000 milestone in January and the 21,000 mark barely one and a half months later.
The S&P 500 gained 0.24 per cent to 2,476.35 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.23 percent to 6,362.94.
The S&P financial index led with a gain of 0.81 per cent. JPMorgan Chase rose 1.34 percent and Goldman Sachs added 0.74 per cent.
The U.S. dollar bounced slightly from a 15-month low against major currencies in the wake of the data, although the outlook remained cautious due to political turmoil in Washington and uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's path of rate hikes.
The dollar index rose 0.1 per cent to 92.961 from a low of 92.777, with the euro down 0.19 per cent to $1.1817.
The softer dollar is expected to benefit earnings for U.S. companies. Thomson Reuters data through Tuesday morning shows second-quarter earnings growth of 10.9 per cent, with 72 per cent of S&P 500 companies topping expectations.
Bets on another quarter-percentage-point U.S. rate increase this year have fallen to about 43 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters data.
In commodities, oil slid from a two-month high as major world producers kept pumping, worrying investors that several weeks of steady gains had pushed the rally too far, too fast.