Wall Street shares lose ground in final minutes
TSX up 20 pts
US crude up 2%
CLOSE
US stocks held onto gains but fell sharply into the close, despite fears easing over a trade war between America and China.
The Dow Jones added around 46 points at 23,979, while the S&P 500 finished up 8.69 at 2,613.
The tech heavy Nasdaq index added over 35 points at 6,950.
It was reportedly the worst hour of trade for four years.
#WallStreet #stock #markets close with gains as #TradeWar fears cool down.https://t.co/j0aDYD9p9z
— Breaking the News 24/7 (@Breaking24Seven) 9 April 2018
US crude added 2.03% to stand at US$63.32 each.
In Toronto, the TSX also lost earlier strong gains, adding over 20 points at 15,227.
MID-SESSION
US stocks were blasting higher at mid-session as traders got back into shares after trade war worries last week.
The Dow Jones added over 378 points at 24,311, while the S&P 500 added over 43 points at 2,647.
The Nasdaq gained over 141 points at 7,057.
In Toronto, the TSX was up nearly 97 points at 15,304.
In New York, there were several notable movers. Turtle Beach Corporation (NASDAQ:HEAR) gained over 417% to US$3.31 after the company raised its guidance for the first quarter.
Meanwhile, AveXis Inc (NASDAQ:AVXS) gained over 80% to US$209.24 after the company agreed to be acquired by Novartis AG for a cool US$8.7 billion.
On the losing front, Menlo Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MNLO) shares plunged over 71% on the back of disappointing clinical trial news.
In bigger stocks, Carmax Inc (NYSE:KMX) shed 1.92% to US$59.14 after it said it had struck a purchase agreement with an arm’s length third party.
Through this agreement, Carmax will acquire additional mineral tenures located contiguous to the Eaglehead polymetallic porphyry copper project in northern British Columbia.
OPEN
Wall Street shares started higher on Monday, after Friday's bloodbath, with all three benchmarks in positive territory.
Traders appear to be buying back into the markets after last week's trade war fears.
The Dow Jones added over 186 points at 24,119, while the broader based S&P 500 is up over 19 points at 2,623.
The tech heavy Nasdaq index is up over 86 points at 7,001.
US crude (West Texas Intermediate) added 1.51% to US$63 a barrel.
In Toronto, the TSX is ahead by over 50 points at 15,258.
In stocks, a notable riser was Leucadia National Corp (NYSE:LUK), up over 9% to US$23.78 as the group unveiled a raft of moves - asset sales, a name-change plan and increased its share repurchase program.
Also higher was Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK), which gained 2.9% to US$54.90 on news that a Phase 3 trial that evaluated its cancer drug Keytruda helped patients with untreated lung cancer survive longer.
Indeed, the patients who were treated with Keytruda as part of the study lived significantly longer than those who received so-called platinum-based chemotherapy.