Equities in Canada’s busiest market gained in early trade on Wednesday, helped by a rebound in banking stocks after recent losses and a jump in shares of Rogers Communications Inc after it reported strong quarterly earnings.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 41.23 points to open Wednesday at 15,663.80
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.32 cents at 74.4 cents U.S.
Health-care bolted as Aphria shares jumped 13 cents, or 2%, to $6.80, and CRH Medical gathered 13 cents, or 1.1%, to $12.23.
In the tech field, BlackBerry sprinted 22 cents, or 1.9%, to $11.90.
U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp has sold its Canadian gasoline stations and refinery in British Columbia to Parkland Fuel Corp, a marketer of petroleum products, for $1.46 billion.
Parkland shares galloped $2.41, or 8.4%, to $31.27.
TD Securities cut the rating on Dollarama to hold from buy. The discount store chain saw its shares gain 52 cents to $118.53.
Desjardins raised the target price on Rogers Communications to $62.50 from $59.00. Rogers shares picked up 76 cents, or 1.2%, to $62.18.
Raymond James raised the target price on Russel Metals to $30.00 from $26.00. Russel shares popped 98 cents, or 3.9%, to $26.23.
Gold plays, however, got the worst of it, as Kinross Gold retreated 14 cents, or 2.7%, to $5.01, Goldcorp slid 31 cents, or 1.5%, to $20.25.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recouped 0.54 points to 825.68.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups began the session in the green, led by health-care, haler by 0.7%, while information technology and telecoms each climbed 0.6%.
The four laggards were weighed most by gold, sagging 0.7%, while materials backed off 0.3%, and utilities lost 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded mixed on Wednesday, with IBM sending the Dow Jones industrial average nearer the flatline and Morgan Stanley leading financials after posting quarterly results.
The Dow squirted but 1.6 points higher to 20,523.88, IBM posted mixed quarterly results as earnings beat but sales fell for the 20th straight quarter on a year-over-year basis. The company known as "Big Blue" saw its stock fall more than 4%.
The S&P 500 added 8.37 points to 2,350.56, with financials leading advancers after Morgan Stanley posted a strong first-quarter as its fixed-income trading revenue doubled year over year.
The investment bank's results easily topped Wall Street expectations, in stark contrast to Dow component Goldman Sachs, which shocked investors with disappointing earnings and revenue
The NASDAQ Composite moved higher 32.87 points to 5,882.34.
This earnings season, one expert opined that 77% of the S&P 500 companies that had already reported topped Wall Street estimates and 58% outperformed sales expectations.
American Express, eBay, Qualcomm and CSX are among the companies scheduled to report after the bell Wednesday.
Investors also kept an eye on France, as the country's presidential election drew closer. Four candidates are within striking distance of the presidency, including far-leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon and conservative Marine Le Pen.
France’s CAC 40 index posted its worst one-day performance since Sept. 26 on Tuesday as jitters over the election led investors to sell ahead of the contest.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were lower, lifting yields to 2.22% from Tuesday’s 2.18%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 11 cents at $52.52 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices sank $14.30 at $1,279.80 U.S. an ounce.
