The Toronto stock market headed for a strong open Wednesday after a big chunk of uncertainty was removed from Europe’s efforts to solve a debt crisis that has been dragging on for almost three years.
The S&P/TSX Composite index inched up 5.02 points to close Tuesday at 12,220.45
The Canadian dollar slid Wednesday morning by 0.11 cents to 102.64 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Telus Corp. will go ahead with a meeting of all shareholders on Oct. 17, now that a B.C. court has ruled against a rival proposal from hedge fund Mason Capital Management LLC, which owns millions of shares of the telecom company.
According to Telus, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has ruled that Mason Capital isn’t entitled to call a rival meeting of only voting shareholders on the same day.
Telus and Mason are fighting over converting the telecom’s dual-class share structure of voting and non-voting stock to just one class of common shares but Mason argues the Telus approach doesn’t properly compensate holders of voting shares. Telus argues that only Mason would benefit if the hedge fund prevails.
Dollarama Inc. had a net profit of $49.8 million in its second quarter, up 32% from the comparable period last year. Dollarama’s revenue was up 13.8%, rising to $441 million from $387.5 million for the corresponding period last year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 3.89 points Tuesday to 1,274.60
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were headed for a higher open Wednesday after a German court backed Europe's latest rescue fund.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials leaped 46 points, or 0.4%, to 13,339, about 30 minutes before the opening bell. Futures for the S&P 500 advanced 5.6 points, or 0.4%, to 1,436.20, and for the Nasdaq, futures took on 15.25 points, or 0.6%, to 2,794.50.
Germany's Constitutional Court dismissed complaints on the legality of the European Stability Mechanism, a permanent bailout fund that's expected to have a maximum lending capacity of €500 billion.
Markets around the world initially rose on the news, but European stocks turned mixed in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.1%, while the DAX in Germany jumped 1.9% and France's CAC 40 rose 1.2%.
Asian markets, which closed ahead of the German court decision, ended higher.
Investors were anxious about how the ruling would impact the European Central Bank's plans to preserve the euro, which remained at its highest level against the U.S. dollar in four months early Wednesday.
In corporate news, Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 5 at an event later Wednesday. Shares of the company were higher as investors awaited the announcement.
Facebook shares rose 4% in pre-market trading, a day after CEO Mark Zuckerberg made his first public interview since the company's IPO. Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, Zuckerberg said he was disappointed by the stock's performance and pledged to stick to Facebook's mission.
Oil for October delivery rose 24 cents to $97.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery gained $10.50 to $1,745.40 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
