Stocks in Canada’s biggest centre opened sharply higher on Wednesday, as higher crude prices helped give energy stocks another boost, but Bombardier Inc shares fell following reports that CSeries talks with Airbus had ended.
The S&P/TSX composite index spiked 170.12 points, or 1.3%, to begin business on Wednesday at 13,818.18
The Canadian dollar moved up 0.31 cents at 77.03 cents U.S.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc said it would spin off 35% of Brookfield Business Partners LP, the asset manager's business services and industrial operations in its private equity unit.
Brookfield Asset Management said it would spin off the business by distributing a special dividend of about $500 million, or 50 cents per share, to its shareholders in the form of units of Brookfield Business Partners.
BAM shares gained 20 cents to $42.42.
Airbus on Tuesday called off talks with Bombardier over propping up the troubled CSeries jet, leaving the Canadian plane maker facing dwindling options to keep alive its dream of competing with bigger aerospace firms.
Under the proposed tie-up, Airbus would have helped Bombardier complete development of the troubled aircraft in exchange for a controlling stake in the program, effectively ending Bombardier’s independent efforts to break into the lower end of the global airplane market dominated by Airbus and Boeing.
Bombardier shares plunged 27 cents, or 15.3%, to $1.50.
Franco-Nevada Corp reached a silver streaming agreement with miner Teck Resources Ltd for $610 million. Nevada expects to receive 900,000 to 1.1 million ounces of silver in the fourth quarter from the Antamina mine in Peru as part of the agreement.
Franco-Nevada shares dipped $1.11, or 1.8%, to $61.76, while shares in Teck spiked $1.43, or 18.4%, to $9.21.
Bankers Petroleum is out with Q3 earnings today, expecting one cent per share. Bankers shares gained 15 cents, or 6.9%, to $2.31.
Le Groupe Jean Coutu PJC expects Q2 earnings of 29 cents per share. Coutu shares gained 10 cents to $20.64.
Colabor Group looks for Q3 earnings of four cents per share. Colabor inched up two cents, or 1.7%, to $1.17.
EXFO Inc projects Q4 earnings of four cents per share. EXFO shares were unchanged at $4.00
Firan Technology Group, expected Q3 earnings of two cents per share. Firan shares were static at $2.02.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that building permits cooled in August by 3.7% to $7.5 billion, following increases of 15.5% in June and 0.7% in July. The decline was attributable to lower construction intentions in most provinces, mainly British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 2.47 points to 541.16
All but two of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher in the early going, with metals and mining skyrocketing 10.5%, energy gushing 3%, and industrials stronger by 1.3%.
The two laggards were gold, down 1.6%, and telecoms, down 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened higher Wednesday as continued recovery in oil prices helped boost sentiment ahead of earnings season.
The Dow Jones industrial average leaped 151.76 points to start the day at 16,941.95, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most to gains.
The S&P 500 jumped 15.96 points to 1,995.88. Energy surged more than 1.5 percent to lead gains in the S&P 500, helping the index come within five points of the psychologically key 2,000 level.
The NASDAQ index restored 33.51 points to 4,781.87
Monsanto and Constellation Brands were among the few firms reporting before the bell Wednesday. Alcoa reports after the close Thursday, unofficially kicking off earnings season.
YUM Brands plunged 18% in morning trade after reporting earnings late Tuesday that missed expectations. The fast food company also disappointed in its key China division with much weaker-than-expected growth in same-store sales.
In other corporate news, SABMiller said it rejected Anheuser-Busch InBev's raised bid, which would have given it a value of nearly £68 billion ($103.6 billion U.S).
The International Copper Study Group said late on Tuesday that it expects the global copper market will see a deficit of 130,000 tonnes in 2016, reversing its prior estimate of a 230,000-tonne surplus.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries slumped, raising yields to 2.08%, compared to Tuesday’s 2.04%. Treasury price and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices improved 96 cents a barrel to $49.49 U.S.
Gold prices dipped $3.21 to $1,144.03 U.S. an ounce.
