Equities in Canada achieved their highest levels since October, as Bank of Montreal’s results added to a rally among lenders and higher crude prices bolstered the nation’s energy producers.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 100.89 points to close Wednesday at 14,053.74. The gauge, which has climbed 8% this year, hadn’t closed above 14,000 since August.
The Canadian dollar advanced 0.59 cents to 76.79 cents U.S.
Base metals companies had a banner day as First Quantum Minerals gained 38 cents, or 4.6%, to $8.61, and Teck Resources gathered 47 cents, or 3.9%, to $12.66.
Among financials, Bank of Montreal rose $1.04, or 1.3%, to $84.27, for a third day of gains that have put the stock at its highest since September 2014. The lender said second-quarter fiscal profit fell 2.6% as soured oil-and-gas loans soared and the firm took a restructuring charge. The lender raised its dividend 2.4% to 86 cents a share.
Manulife Financial Corp. climbed nine cents to $19.46, and Bank of Nova Scotia added 83 cents, or 1.3%, to $64.59, as financial firms in the Canadian benchmark climbed to the highest level in a year.
Suncor Energy Inc. rose 31 cents to $35.70, and Baytex Energy climbed 28 cents, or 4.6%, to $6.32.
One of the few sour notes was sounded by consumer staples, in which Metro Inc. lost 13 cents to $44.16, while rival Loblaw dipped 15 cents to $70.88.
Economically speaking, 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%.
The central bank added the economy would shrink in the second quarter as a result of damage from the massive Alberta wildfires before rebounding later in the year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange rebounded into positive country 1.77 points to 677.08.
All but two of the 13 TSX subgroups gained ground, most notably, metals and mining, up 3.9%, energy, ahead 2.3%, and materials, up 1.9%.
The two laggards were consumer staples, off 0.4%, and utilities, hesitating 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday with energy among the top gainers as oil rose above $49.00 U.S. a barrel to hit fresh highs for the year so far.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 145.46 points to close at 17,851.51, with Goldman Sachs and IBM gaining the most.
The S&P 500 was positive 15.51 points to 2,091.57, with energy leading nine sectors higher and utilities the only decliner.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 33.84 points to 4,894.89
Shares of Transocean traded more than 8% higher, while Southwestern Energy and Chesapeake traded more than 6% higher.
Shares of Alibaba fell more than 5% in midday trade after the China-based e-commerce firm said the Securities Exchange Commission was looking into its accounting practices.
U.S. crude oil futures came off highs after weekly crude inventories from the EIA showed a drawdown of 4.23 million barrels.
Earlier, oil topped $49.00 U.S. a barrel to hit fresh highs for the year so far. WTI last traded above $50.00 U.S. a barrel in mid-October.
American Petroleum Institute data released late Tuesday showed U.S. crude stocks fell by more than five million barrels last week, double analyst expectations, while gasoline inventories increased and distillate stocks drew
In economic news, the Markit Flash U.S. services PMI for May was 51.2, down from 52.8 in April and well below the long-run survey average of 55.6
Elsewhere, the U.S. advance April goods trade deficit was $57.53 billion, the U.S. Department of Commerce said.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index rose 0.7% in March from the prior month.
Total mortgage application volume increased 2.3% for the week on a seasonally adjusted basis, a nearly 24% rise year-over-year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury faded slightly, raising yields to 1.87% from Tuesday’s 1.86%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.04 a barrel to $49.66 U.S.
Gold prices were down $2.66 to $1,224.55 U.S. an ounce.
