The Toronto stock market registered a strong advance Wednesday amid signs that economic growth in China held up better than expected in the first quarter.
The S&P/TSX composite index climbed 142.60 points, or 1%, Wednesday to 14,446.52
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.32 cents at 90.79 cents U.S.
On the earnings front, supermarket chain Metro Inc. posted adjusted earnings of $1.07 per share, five cents higher than analysts had expected. Overall sales were up 1.7% year over year, rising to $2.55 billion from $2.51 billion and Metro shares were up $1.58, or 2.5%, to $65.86.
There was a major acquisition in the gold sector that will see Yamana Gold Inc. and Agnico Eagle Mines jointly acquire 100% of Osisko Mining in a cash and stock deal worth $3.9 billion. The companies are paying Osisko $8.15 a share. The offer represents an 11% premium to a hostile bid for Osisko that had been mounted by Goldcorp.
Yamana shares dipped 35 cents to $8.83, Agnico Eagle dropped $2.74, or 8.2%, to $30.71, Goldcorp rose 22 cents to $26.22 while Osisko shares were up 51 cents, or 6.9%, to $7.94.
On the economic schedule, the Bank of Canada announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1%, or where it’s been for the last three and a half years.
Meantime, Statistics Canada reported that foreign investment in Canadian securities moved higher $6.1 billion in February, mostly corporate instruments. This was matched by Canadian acquisitions of foreign securities at $6.0 billion.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 5.87 points to 997.97
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were on the rise Wednesday, most notably consumer staples, shooting up 1.5%, while energy and global base metals gained 1.4% each.
Only gold was in negative country on the day, and only 0.2% at that.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors celebrated Wednesday as earnings, economic data and U.S. Federal Reserve Chief Janet Yellen brought good news.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 162.29 points, or 1%, to close at 16,424.85
The S&P 500 gained 19.33 points to 1,862.31, and the NASDAQ composite index popped 52.07 to 4,086.23.
Despite a lot of choppiness in the markets lately, all three major indexes are up for the week, although only the S&P 500 is positive for the year.
Yellen sent a clear message to Wall Street today to stop panicking about interest rates, that rates would stay where they are for a “considerable time after asset purchase program ends”
Investors took this as more assurance that rates aren't going up any time soon, and the market held steady and then ticked up slightly after she finished her remarks.
Earnings are the other big story today. Yahoo surged 6% after the company posted earnings and sales Tuesday night that came in slightly ahead of expectations.
Yahoo investors are also excited for the highly-anticipated Alibaba IPO. Yahoo owns 24% of the Chinese internet giant, putting it in position for a multi-billion-dollar windfall from the deal.
But Bank of America shares declined Wednesday after reporting a quarterly loss stemming from its $6 billion U.S. in litigation expenses from a settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The settlement was related to the bank misrepresenting risky mortgage securities that contributed to the housing crisis.
Intel reported earnings that beat analysts' estimates by a cent. Its stock was flat Wednesday.
Aside from earnings, Chinese Internet giant Weibo is expected to price its initial public offering after the closing bell on Wednesday. The social media powerhouse, sometimes referred to as China's Twitter, is expected to sell about $380 million U.S. in stock, putting its value at about $4 billion U.S.
King Digital Entertainment is taking its popular Candy Crush Saga game to China. The stock is up over 4% as investors imagined how many millions, if not billions, of bored Chinese would start playing.
Shares of SodaStream spiked after an Israeli newspaper reported that the soda machine maker is in talks to sell a stake to a major soft-drink company.
On Wednesday, the U.S. government released housing data that showed new home construction rose from February, though it was down from a year ago. It was mixed news though because building permits, a gauge of future construction activity, fell in March.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sagged, boosting yields to 2.64% from Tuesday’s 2.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained four cents to $103.79 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up two dollars to $1,302.30 U.S. an ounce.
