Canadian Stocks Fluctuate Before Closing Moderately Higher

(RTTNews) - Following the Victoria Day holiday on Monday, Canadian stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Tuesday before closing mostly higher.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the day up 88.59 points or 0.4 percent at 20,286.20 after bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line in early trading.

Energy stocks helped lead the way higher, with the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index surging up by 2.5 percent.

The rally by energy stocks came despite a decrease by the price of crude oil, as crude for July delivery fell $0.52 to $109.77 a barrel.

Significant strength was also visible among gold stocks, which moved higher along with the price of the precious metal.

With gold for June delivery climbing $17.60 to $1,865.40 an ounce, the S&P/TSX Capped Gold Index shot up by 2.2 percent.

On the other hand, technology stocks moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology Index down by 4.3 percent.

The sell-off by tech stocks came after Snapchat parent Snap Inc. (SNAP) warned of weaker than expected second quarter results, saying the "macroeconomic environment has deteriorated further and faster than anticipated."