It was a green day across North America as U.S. midterm election results lifted investor sentiment.
With the Democrats winning control of House and the midterms in the rearview, a cloud of uncertainty was lifted and it reflected in the markets.
The Dow soared while gains were more modest north of the border.
On Bay Street, the TSX moved up 76 points with nine of 11 sectors trading higher.
The tech sector jumped 2.6 percent, bolstered by strong Q4 earnings results from IT and business consulting firm CGI Group Inc. along with software company Solium Capital.
CGI’s stock rose 3.3 percent after the company reported revenue of $2.9 billion, up 7.3 percent along with net earnings of $293.5 million.
Meanwhile, Solium’s shares spiked 6.5 percent.
Health care also jumped with cannabis stocks leading the way.
Bloomberg reported today that with the midterm results now in, there is growing optimism that several U.S. states are on track to legalizing pot.
In New York, investors were in a buying mood as the Dow rocketed up 545 points, one day after the index posted its highest close in three weeks.
Apple, which has stumbled over the past two weeks, was part of the surge as the tech giant gained more than three percent, while the index’s financials sector rose 2.1 percent.
It was also a good day for Microsoft which gained 3.9 percent and Caterpillar, up 4.4 percent.
The Nasdaq also ascended, rising 194 points. The tech-heavy index was strengthened by hefty increases in Amazon and Netflix.
Oil prices slid, down 55 cents to $61.66 US a barrel after U.S. government data showed a seventh straight increase in domestic crude stockpiles.
Both the loonie and gold both moved up, with the Canadian dollar edging 6/100ths of a cent higher to $0.7624 US while the yellow metal gained $1.50 to $1,227 an ounce.
