Markets in Toronto gained on Wednesday as rising commodity prices helped energy and gold mining stocks push higher while railway stocks lagged.
The S&P/TSX Composite took on 90.11 points to greet noon at 14,842.36, after a gain of 150 points-plus Tuesday
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.04 cents to 76.32 cents U.S.
Canadian Pacific Railway declined 2.3% to $196.59 after the country's number-two railroad operator reported a 9.1% drop in quarterly revenue, due mainly to a delayed grain harvest and lower crude oil volumes.
Its rival Canadian National declined 0.9% to $87.03, as industrials fell
The most influential gainers on the index included Goldcorp, which rose 3.1% to $20.09, and Barrick Gold, up 2.4% to $21.98.
The energy group climbed, as oil prices were boosted by evidence of declining production in China and falling U.S. inventories, while an upbeat OPEC statement on its planned output cut also supported the market.
Suncor Energy rose 0.8% to C$38.26 and Encana added 1.5% to $14.83.
The Bank of Canada maintained its target for the overnight rate at 0.5%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 0.75% and the deposit rate is 0.25%
ON BAY STREET
The TSX Venture Exchange grew 5.8 points to 789.44
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, with gold shining brighter 3%, materials popping 2.1%, and energy gaining 2%
The four laggards were weighed most by industrials, down 0.4%, consumer staples, sliding 0.2%, and real-estate, fading 0.1%.
ON WALL STREET
Stocks traded mostly higher on Wednesday, helped by better-than-expected earnings and rising oil prices, as investors braced themselves for a key Federal Reserve data release.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 64.72 points to break for lunch at 18,226.66, with Chevron leading advancers and Intel the top decliner.
The S&P 500 added 5.44 points to 2,145.04, with energy leading six sectors higher and consumer staples lagging.
The NASDAQ composite index poked up 0.58 points to 5,244.42
Morgan Stanley, Abbott Labs and BB&T were among the companies that exceeded expectations on both earnings per share and revenue. Morgan Stanley continued the trend of big banks beating forecasts on strong performances from trading.
Dow component Intel also reported better-than-expected results Tuesday afternoon, but its stock fell more than 5% on light revenue guidance. Companies scheduled to report are eBay, American Express and Mattel, among others
The energy sector extended gains after the Energy Information Administration reported a 5.3-million-barrel crude oil drawdown.
The Fed is scheduled to release the latest iteration of its so-called Beige Book at 2 p.m. ET, which summarizes economic conditions in the U.S. The report is expected to garner more attention than usual as investors search for more clues about when the central bank will raise interest rates.
Other economic data released Wednesday included housing start and permits for September. Housing starts fell 9% last month, but permits spiked 6.3%. Also, U.S. mortgage applications rose 0.6% last week, as higher rates did not keep folks from buying.
Market participants will also keep an eye on the U.S. presidential election, with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump scheduled to hold their third and final debate before the election. Clinton currently hold a double-digit lead over Trump, according to a poll released Sunday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were up, lowering yields to 1.74% from Tuesday’s 1.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.47 at $51.76 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices hiked $8.70 to $1,271.60 U.S. an ounce.
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