Canadian stocks moved sharply higher Wednesday, as the buzz from Europe got more positive and as commodities made their way higher.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 170.39 points, or 1.5%, to greet lunch hour at 11,678.10
The Canadian dollar was up 0.79 of a cent to 97.16 cents U.S.
Stocks were lifted Wednesday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the recovery for the euro area was expected to come gradually, and some members preferred a rate cut.
Barrick Gold Corp. says Aaron Regent has been replaced as president and chief executive officer by Jamie Sokalsky, who was the Toronto-based company’s chief financial officer. Barrick stock registered at noon at $43.36, down 34 cents from Tuesday’s close, and down sharply from its 52-week high of $55.36, achieved last September.
Elsewhere, in the mining field, Kinross Gold inched up five cents to $9.08, while Goldcorp. climbed 27 cents to $42.05.
Among other noteworthy issues, Major Drilling said fourth-quarter revenue jumped 73% and earnings tripled versus the year-earlier quarter. The company’s shares soared $1.04, or 8.9%, to $12.78.
Nordion swung to a second-quarter profit as special items weighed on year-ago results, though revenue slipped across its main business segments. Results missed analyst expectations. Nordion shares collapsed 7.2% to $8.75.
Sprott said it has agreed to buy alternative investment manager Flatiron Capital Management Partners for an undisclosed amount, expanding the independent asset manager's specialty fixed-income fund offerings. Sprott shares skyrocketed 48 cents, or 8.8%, to $5.93.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 25.33 points to 1,310.90. The Nasdaq Canada index tacked on 9.95 points to 366.93
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups went skyward soon after the opening bell and stayed there by noon, following a 5% surge by metals and mining issues. Global base metal stocks triumphed 3.2%, and energy stocks soared 3%.
The two laggards were in health-care, 1% sicker, and telecoms, fading 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rallied Wednesday as investors digested comments from the European Central Bank and weighed a new proposal for European-wide bank rescues and bailouts.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved higher by 212.86 points, or 1.8%, to 12,340.81
The S&P 500 was 23.69 points better to 1,309.19. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was up 58.49 points to 2,836.60
U.S. financial stocks led the broad-based rally. Shares of Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase all advanced.
There are reports that Nasdaq OMX Group will tell brokers Wednesday how it will compensate investors for problems with trading during the Facebook IPO fiasco last month
Facebook shares rebounded Wednesday, after hitting a new low of $25.52 U.S. Shares are more than 30% below the IPO price of $38 U.S
Chesapeake Energy is in advanced talks to sell almost all of its pipeline assets for more than $4 billion U.S. to Global Infrastructure Partners, according to Bloomberg report, which lifted Chesapeake shares.
The E.C.B. left interest rates steady at 1%, though the decision was not unanimous, E.C.B. President Mario Draghi told reporters after the meeting.
Draghi also said that the central bank will continue to monitor developments closely and stands ready to act if necessary.
The E.C.B. is under pressure to take additional steps to support the economy and restore confidence in financial markets.
But Draghi stressed that monetary policy cannot make up for a lack of action by euro area political leaders.
The European Union also unveiled a plan early Wednesday that would call for a Europe-wide banking union, which would deal with future banking crisis on the continent, rather than leaving them in the hands of their already struggling national governments. A specific size of the rescue fund to be created was not disclosed though.
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, did not revise its estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy. The agency said the 17 nations that use the euro saw a 0.1% decline in GDP in the quarter, while the 27 nations in the European Union had a combined 0.1% increase. The figures were an improvement from the fourth quarter's decline of 0.3% in both the euro-zone and the E.U.
Economically speaking, investors will be watching for the latest outlook on the U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book, a report covering economic activity in its 12 regional districts, at 2 p.m. ET. The report will be the Fed's first statement on the strength of the U.S. recovery since Friday's disappointing May jobs report.
First-quarter productivity was revised to a 0.9% decline from a previous estimate of a 0.5% decline. Analysts were expecting a drop of 0.8%.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 1.65% from Tuesday’s 1.56%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil gained $1.47 to $85.76 U.S.
Gold prices soared $23.10 to $1,640 U.S. an ounce.
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