Oil spikes on a quiet Tuesday

Oil spikes on a quiet Tuesday…

After days of large-cap beats and misses, record-breaking highs and an interest rate cut and, markets on both sides of the border were as flat as the Prairies Tuesday. Except for the S&P, markets edged up by a few decimal places in a relatively quiet day of trading. Of note, Canadian financials such as Royal Bank and Manulife climbed half a percent to approach their 52-week highs of $108.25 and $25.37 respectively.

Encana continued to rise after announcing its surprise move to the United States last week. On Tuesday, Encana jumped 8.18%. As a whole, Canadian oil stocks performed well, rising 1.21% along with the price of crude, with names like Baytex, Gibson and Tamarack Valley leaping well over 5%. Energy investors were excited on news that Iran suggested that OPEC may cut production, then on China-US trade deal optimism.

Meanwhile, Nutrien rose 1.16% after its CEO projected a strong recovery in 2020 from this year’s weak fertilizer demand partly from poor Canadian weather. Nutrien also lowered 2019 estimates again in potash sales volume. In macro-economic news, China lifted its ban on Canadian pork and beef, which is sign that relations between the two countries may be thawing.

🛢 Encana Corp +8.18%
🛢 Baytex Energy Corp +4.49%
🛢 Gibson Energy +5.49%
🛢 Tamarack Valley Energy +4.32%
🌾 Nutrien Ltd. +1.16%