Canada's main stock index rose at open on Wednesday, boosted by the consumer staples sector, which rose with shares of convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index regained 88.71 points to open Wednesday at 15,032.80
The Canadian dollar handed back 0.20 cents at 75.01 U.S.
Shares in Couche-Tard climbed $1.18, or 1.8%, to $66.93.
Royal Bank of Canada reported a forecast-beating 17% jump in fourth-quarter earnings, helped by growth in its retail banking and wealth management divisions.
Shares in Canada’s largest bank rocketed $1.24, or 1.3%, to $96.73.
Ensign Energy Services said on Tuesday 56.4% of Trinidad Drilling shares have been tendered in its hostile offer, resulting in rival bidder Precision Drilling Corp walking away and the resignation of Trinidad's top executives.
Ensign shares gained 11 cents, or 2.3%, to $4.81.
CIBC cut the price target on Bank of Nova Scotia to $86.00 from $88.00. Scotiabank shares took on 65 cents to $70.80.
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on Centerra Gold to $7.50 from $6.50. Centerra shares gained nine cents, or 1.7%, to $5.42.
RBC raised the price target on Emera to $50.00 from $46.00. Emera shares acquired 44 cents, or 1%, to $43.85.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recharged 3.55 points to 589.44
All 12 subgroups barged into the green in the first hour, with health-care issues haler by 2.6%, information technology up 1.7%, and consumer staples up 1.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors awaited a key speech from the top Federal Reserve official, while hope that a U.S.-China trade truce could come lifted sentiment on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average vaulted 148.9 points to 24,897.63, led by gains in Boeing.
The S&P 500 gained 9.87 points to 2,692.04
The NASDAQ pumped higher 43.25 points to 7,125.95
Boeing shares rose more than 2% as trade worries eased. They also rose after Indonesia investigators said they are looking at a possible maintenance issue that could have led to the Lion Air crash last month.
Stocks also rose as beaten-down tech shares regained some of their losses. Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet all rose.
Salesforce shares rose more than 8% after the company reported better-than-expected earnings. Other cloud-related companies like ServiceNow and Adobe also traded higher.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak at the Economic Club of New York. During the event, Powell is slated to talk about the Fed's framework for monitoring financial stability. Investors are eagerly awaiting the speech as stocks have fallen in part because of fears the central bank may be tightening monetary policy too quickly.
Easing worries on U.S.-China trade also boosted stocks on Wednesday. A New York Times report said Trump was worried about the impact of a long trade war with China on markets and the economy. This could lead Trump to seek a compromise with China on trade, the Times said, citing U.S. officials.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury were unchanged yields at Tuesday’s 3.07%.
Oil prices slumped 58 cents to $50.98 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slumped two dollars at $1,211.40 U.S. an ounce.
