Good vibes over the continuation of the U.S. central bank's $85-billion-a-month bond-buying program sent stock prices higher Wednesday morning. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to testify to a congressional panel today.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 67.52 points to begin Wednesday at 12,584.41
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.35 cents to 96.10 cents U.S.
Back home, Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on Agrium Inc. to $115 from $118 on valuation. Agrium shares took on eight cents to $93.24
Canaccord also cut the rating on Midway Gold Corp to sell from speculative buy due to the impact of the precious metal forecast revision. Midway Gold acquired two cents to $1.04
National Bank Financial raised the target on Quebecor Inc. to $53 from $52, assuming that nearly half of the company's savings will be mitigated by evolving top-line pressures as well as investments in digital initiatives. Quebecor shares dipped 18 cents to $47.32.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that foreign investment in Canadian securities slowed to $6.7 billion in May on lower investment for all types of securities, mainly bonds. Meantime, Canadian investors sold $1.6 billion in funds from international financial markets in May, mostly U.S. securities.
What’s more, figures released this morning by the Canadian Real Estate Association revealed that the number of home sales rose 3.3% in June. This marks the fourth consecutive monthly increase, with activity now running 11% above where it stood in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange improved 1.69 points to 912.53
All 14 Toronto subgroups were in the green at the outset Wednesday, led by global base metals, up 1.2%, industrials, up 1.1%, and metals and mining, charging ahead 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened higher Wednesday after testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke gave investors reason to believe the central bank will continue to support the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials took on 29.19 points to begin doing business Wednesday at 15,481.
The S&P 500 index improved 4.94 points to 1,681.20. The NASDAQ Composite was up 12.46 points to 3,610.96
In the corporate world, Bank of America released its second-quarter results before the opening bell, reporting a 63% surge in quarterly profit to more than $4 billion U.S.
Yahoo shares rose after the company reported a jump in profit, though quarterly sales fell slightly short of both Wall Street's expectations and its own results from a year earlier.
CSX shares rose after the rail company reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations.
Results are due Wednesday afternoon from firms including IBM, Intel, eBay and American Express
Investors will be looking for more clues about which direction the Fed is leaning when Bernanke goes before the House Financial Services Committee this morning.
At 2 p.m. ET, the Fed will release a report on regional economies the latest edition of its so-called Beige Book.
In other economic news, the number of new homes breaking ground in June fell 10% from May, the Commerce Department said.
Meanwhile, applications for building permits, considered a leading indicator for new home construction, fell 7%. Both figures were worse than expected.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury spiked, lowering yields to 2.47% from Tuesday’s 2.53%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 30 cents to $105.70 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $3.60 to $1,294 U.S. an ounce.
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