Equities in Toronto catapulted to a near-12-week high on Wednesday with Air Canada and energy stocks driving broad gains as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 87.17 points to greet noon at 15,380.14, a level it hasn’t seen since June.
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.22 cents to 81.59 cents U.S.
Canadian Natural Resources rose 1.7% to $41.16, while Encana Corp advanced 1.9% to $13.35.
Air Canada shares surged 7.4% to $25.05 after several analysts raised their target prices and ratings on the airline following its update of its 2018 to 2020 financial goals.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.25 points to 782
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive by midday, with energy gushing 1.8%, gold shining 0.9% brighter and industrials up 0.8%.
The two laggards were information technology, down 0.5%, and real-estate, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 rose slightly as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest decision on when it will begin reducing its extensive balance sheet.
The Dow moved into the green, adding 18.47 points to Tuesday’s all-time high at 22,389.27, with Boeing and McDonald's contributing the most to the gains.
The S&P 500 nicked ahead 0.96 points above Tuesday’s all-time record to 2,507.61, with energy and telecommunications contributing the most to the gains.
The NASDAQ let go of 14.75 points to Tuesday’s peak to 6,446.57, with Apple, Facebook and Intel all trading lower.
On Wall Street, shares of FedEx rose more than 2% after trading sharply lower in the pre-market. The shipping giant said Tuesday it now expects earnings between $11.05 and $11.85 per share, below its previous projection between $12 and $12.80 per share.
The company said it adjusted its outlook to account for the impact of the TNT Express cyberattack, which FedEx said "significantly affected" the worldwide operations of the segment.
Shares of General Mills fell more than 5% after the company posted weaker-than-expected profit, hurt by lower yogurt and cereal sales in North America. Net income fell to $404.7 million while the company earned 71 cents per share, short of expectations of 76 cents per share.
The U.S. Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 0.4% last month, making August's gain the largest in seven months and lifting the year-over-year increase in the CPI to 1.9%.
Investors now reportedly see a 56% chance of a rate increase by the end of December.
The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday existing home sales decreased 1.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units last month. That was the lowest level since August 2016.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note strengthened, lowering yields to 2.24% from Tuesday’s 2.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked 93 cents a barrel to $50.41
Gold prices improved $4.80 to $1,315.40 U.S. an ounce
