Equities in Canada’s largest market 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 23.48 points to begin Wednesday at 14,775.73, after a gain of 150 points-plus Tuesday
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.02 cents to 76.3 cents U.S.
Laurentian Bank of Canada is reportedly setting up an energy investment banking team in Calgary, Alberta's oil capital.
A senior company official said Laurentian Bank had been seeking an opportunity to open an energy-focused banking arm for years and the prolonged slump in Canadian oil and gas offered a chance to jump into the industry at a low point in the cycle.
Laurentian listed lower two cents to $48.73.
CIBC raised the target price on Descartes Systems Group to $25.5 from $22.25 believing that the company may now be considering larger deals, with the logistics market in the midst of consolidation.
Descartes shares gained 25 cents to $27.98.
Among those announcing earnings results, Canadian Pacific Railway expects Q3 earnings of $2.79 per share. CP shares descended $4.41, or 2.2%, to $196.90.
Corus Entertainment projects Q4 earnings of 15 cents per share. Corus shares dropped six cents each to $11.26.
Mullen Group expects Q3 earnings of 13 cents per share. Mullen shares acquired a nickel to $16.91.
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 7.03 points to 790.67
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, with gold shining brighter 1.2%, energy gaining 1.1%, and materials stronger by 0.7%.
The four laggards were weighed most by industrials, down 0.7%, consumer staples, sliding 0.4%, and telecoms, fading 0.2%.
ON WALL STREET
Stocks traded mixed on Wednesday, amid better-than-expected earnings and rising oil prices, as investors braced themselves for a key Federal Reserve data release.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 33.49 points to open Wednesday at 18,195.43, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains to the tune of 11 points. That said, Intel shares dragged on the blue-chips index, shaving off 13 points.
The S&P 500 added 1.54 points to 2,141.11, with energy leading advancers and consumer staples lagging.
The NASDAQ composite index slid 4.07 points to 5,239.77
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 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 unchanged, keeping yields at Tuesday’s 1.75%.
Oil prices gained 86 cents at $51.15 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices hiked $6.30 to $1,269.20 U.S. an ounce.
