Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday, rebounding from the previous session's weak close, as a 2% rise in oil prices helped push energy shares higher.
The S&P/TSX Composite sprinted 82.48 points to greet noon at 16,295.79
The Canadian dollar gained 0.24 cents to 75.32 cents U.S.
Pembina Pipeline fell 17 cents to $49.10 after it agreed to buy smaller rival Kinder Morgan Canada and the U.S. portion of the Cochin pipeline for $4.35 billion. Shares of Kinder Morgan surged about $3.78, or 34.4%, to $14.76.
The top percentage gainers on the TSX were Bausch Health which jumped $1.46, or 5.8%, to $29.95, followed by shares of MEG Energy, which rose 13 cents, or 2.7%, to $4.87.
Alacer Gold fell four cents to $5.64, while Ero Copper, which dropped 62 cents, or 3%, to $19.88.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said the consumer price index rose 2.0% on a year-over-year basis in July, matching the increase in June. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, inflation increased 0.4%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 2.71 points to 573.97
All but two of 12 Toronto subgroups were in the green by noon, with information technology hiking 1.8%, health-care up 1.2%, and energy increasing 0.9%.
The two laggards proved to be gold, down 0.6%, and materials, slouching 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Wednesday as strong quarterly results from retailers such as Target and Lowe's lifted investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average screamed higher 298.08 points to 26,260.52,
The S&P 500 recovered 26.82 points to 2,927.33
The NASDAQ climbed 81.83 point, or 1%, to 8,030.40
Target shares surged more than 16% to a record after the retailer posted second-quarter results that topped analyst expectations. The company's same-store sales, a key metric for retailers, expanded by 3.4%. Analysts expected growth of 2.9%.
Lowe's jumped around 10% on its second-quarter earnings report. CEO Marvin Ellison said the company capitalized on strong "holiday event execution and growth in Paint and our Pro business to deliver strong second quarter results."
The better-than-expected results come at a time when traders are worried about a possible U.S. economic slowdown. Those fears have led investors away from riskier assets like equities in favor of traditionally safer assets like gold and Treasurys.
Investors on Wednesday looked ahead to the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting in July as they search for any clues on monetary policy. The Fed cut rates by 25 basis points in July, while signaling that it was only a "mid-cycle adjustment" and the central bank was not returning to the stimulus era.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell back, raisng yields to 1.58% from Tuesday’s 1.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices slid five cents to $56.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were unchanged by noon to $1,515.70 U.S. an ounce.
