Stocks in Toronto surged in the early going Wednesday, as investors digested economic numbers from south of the border and waited for the outcome of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting this afternoon.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 32.50 points to begin the session at 15,479.05.
The Canadian dollar fell another 0.3 cents at 91.85 cents U.S.
Thomson Reuters Corp reported a 1% rise in revenue on growth in its Legal and Tax & Accounting divisions. Thomson shares hiked $1.54, or 3.8%, to $41.62.
Cenovus Energy said its second-quarter profit more than tripled, helped by increased production at its Christina Lake oil sands project in northern Alberta. Cenovus popped $1.19, or 3.6%, to $34.00.
MEG Energy reported a second-quarter profit, compared with a year-earlier loss, helped by increased bitumen production in its oil sands operations and higher prices. MEG shares soared $1.84, or 4.9%, to $39.56.
Torstar Corp reported a 7% decline in revenue in its media business, which publishes the country's largest daily newspaper, the Toronto Star. Torstar shares docked 19 cents, or 2.3%, to $8.07.
Barclays raised the price target on George Weston to $89 from $86, with an equal-weight rating. Weston shares gained 23 cents to $87.19.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that its Industrial Product Price Index edged down 0.1% in June, mainly because of lower prices for motorized and recreational vehicles.
The agency’s Raw Materials Price Index – released in conjunction with industrial products -- rose 1.1%, largely as a result of higher prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 0.37 points to 1,016.13
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive, led by information technology, up 1.9%, health-care, jumping 1.3%, and consumer discretionaries, up 0.9%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by gold, down 1.2%, materials, down 0.6%, and utilities, sliding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The economy has snapped out of its winter stupor and Twitter is on fire. But investors were taking a cautious approach early Wednesday ahead of the latest statement from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials lost 19.94 points in the early going, to 16,892.17
The S&P 500 poked ahead 1.22 points to 1,971.17. The NASDAQ composite recovered 17.36 points to 4,460.06, thanks to a big rally in shares of Twitter.
Twitter shares soared right out of the gate. The social media company posted surprisingly strong second-quarter sales late Tuesday.
Shares in Amgen gained after the company announced it was cutting up to 2,900 jobs, or about 12-15% of its workforce.
Sprint shares gained after the telecommunications company reported better-than-expected earnings. Kraft Foods and Whole Foods will report after the close.
The U.S. economy has emerged from deep freeze. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic growth, increased at an annual rate of 4% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said.
The second-quarter growth rate was better than expected, and the decline in the first quarter was revised up to 2.1% from 2.9%.
The economy has rebounded from the weather-driven slowdown in the first three months of the year, said one expert. The overall growth rate for the first half of 2014 is 1.8%, he said, which is not far below the 2% average for the past few years.
The job market is also showing signs of strength. Payroll processing firm ADP said private sector employers added 218,000 jobs in July. That was down slightly from the month before.
Still to come, the Federal Reserve will release a statement outlining its latest monetary policies. It's widely believed that the central bank will announce another $10-billion U.S. pullback in monthly bond purchases, but investors will be scrutinizing every word of the statement for clues as to when the Fed plans to raise interest rates.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries faded, raising yields to 2.52% from Tuesday’s 2.46%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices spiked 54 cents to $101.51 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices retreated $3.30 to $1,295 U.S. an ounce.
