Stocks in Canada’s largest market rose on Wednesday, boosted by energy shares as oil prices hovered near six-week highs, while investors also focused on a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting where it is widely expected to raise interest rates.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed positive 58.92 points to end Wednesday at 15,675.28
The Canadian dollar triumphed 1.01 cents at 77.5 cents U.S.
Among energy issues, BNK Petroleum gained seven cents, or 13.2%, to 60 cents, while Enerplus hoisted $1.14, or 7.9%, to $15.54.
Gold issues moved higher, as Goldcorp gathered 31 cents, or 1.8%, to $17.41, while Barrick Gold improved 27 cents, or 1.7%, to $15.98.
Among other resource stocks, Cornerstone Metals clicked 12 cents, or 36.4%, to 45 cents, Mineral Mountain Resources jumped eight cents, or 15.4%, to 60 cents.
Tech stocks faltered Wednesday, as BlackBerry faded 14 cents to $16.98, and Constellation Software dropped $1.99 to $894.21.
In the consumer staples field, Ten Peaks Coffee fell 78 cents, or 12%, to $5.70, while Saputo trailed three cents to $41.30.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 0.06 points to 831.15
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green by the closing bell, with energy gushing 3.7%, while gold hiked 1.9%, and materials moved up 1.6%.
The four laggards were weighed most by consumer staples and information technology, each off 1%, while telecoms slid 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks whipsawed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve upgraded its economic outlook and increased interest rates. The central bank also increased its rate-hike forecast for next year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ducked lower 44.96 points to 24,682.31, with Apple as the biggest decliner in the index. The Dow had risen as much as 250.38 points.
The S&P 500 lopped 5.01 points to 2,711.93, as consumer staples declined 1.3%. At is session high, the broad index had risen 0.8%.
The NASDAQ composite Index slid 19.02 points to 7,345.29, after gaining as much as 0.6%.
In corporate news, Facebook shares bounced off the week's lows with a 0.8% gain as some top investors said the recent selloff reflects a temporary issue.
The social media giant faces an investor lawsuit after reports emerged alleging that Cambridge Analytica, an analytics company, had gathered data from 50 million Facebook profiles without the permission of its users.
General Mills, meanwhile, fell nearly 10% after the company trimmed its adjusted earnings growth forecast.
The Fed raised overnight rates by 25 basis points, in line with market expectations. Central bank officials also raised their Gross Domestic Product forecast.
Fed officials also released their projections for the federal funds rate, which remained unchanged for 2018. The central bank, however, raised its 2019 forecast, saying it sees the benchmark rate at 2.9% , up from a 2.7% projection released in December.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note grew enough to lower yields back to Tuesday’s 2.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices marched ahead $1.86 a barrel to $65.40 U.S.
Gold prices brightened $20.40 to $1,332.30 U.S. an ounce.
