Canada's commodity-heavy main stock index edged higher on Wednesday as investors cheered the pausing of new U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, while gains in mining shares offered additional support.
The TSX held onto gains of 127.82 points to reach noon hour at 36,485.75.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.41 cents, to 72.36 cents U.S.
Aris Mining was a standout performer, up $2.85, or 11.7%, to $27.25, while OceanaGold Corp hiked $3.42, or 8.9%, to $41.67 and Endeavour Silver gained $6.02, or 7.9%, to $82.40.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced late on Tuesday he was putting a three-day pause on new 50% tariffs that were set to go into effect on Canadian goods on Wednesday, saying the two countries had reached a deal.
Following the announcement, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that "substantial progress has been made, although there is important work still to be done."
Separately, investors monitored developments in the Middle East conflict and awaited the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's July meeting for clues on the central bank's interest rate trajectory.
Oil prices hit a three-week high as uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing supply disruptions persisted.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange popped 25.76 points, or 2.7%, to 970.63.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups moved into the positive range early Wednesday afternoon, led by gold, brighter 8.1%, materials, up 6.6%, and real-estate, taking on 1.3%.
The two laggards were financials, shedding 2.5%, and utilities, off 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Wednesday as bond yields fell following the Treasury Department’s announcement of an increased buyback operation for longer-term debt.
The 30-stock index climbed 154.72 points to 53,498.12.
The S&P 500 hiked 24.83 points, or 2.7%. to 7,722.82.
The NASDAQ Composite was positive 92.97 points to 26,382.69.
Stocks viewed as beneficiaries of lower rates saw some gains. Booking Holdings and Home Depot advanced 3% and 2%, respectively, while McDonald’s and Walmart were roughly 1% higher.
Moderna more than doubled, soaring more than 120% and heading for its best day on record after an experimental skin cancer vaccine developed with Merck showed success in a late-stage trial. Merck shares jumped more than 10%, supporting the Dow.
Shares of Marvell Technology gained more than 12% after announcing an agreement with Google related to its tensor processing units and issuing Alphabet a warrant to buy as much as almost 59 million shares of Marvell common stock.
However, key stocks in the tech space were under pressure. Oracle slid nearly 1%, while chip stocks such as Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices shed around 4%.
The latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes are set to release Wednesday afternoon. Investors will likely take a keen eye to the minutes, given the sharp divisions within the central bank. At the July meeting, there were three dissenters voting to hike rates, a division that investors will seek greater detail on.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury popped, lowering yields to 4.65% from Tuesday’s 4.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices spiked $1.44 to $86.38 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $131.10 to $4,551.70 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
