The Toronto stock market was higher Wednesday with the focus on central banks as the Bank of Canada left its key rate unchanged and the chairman of the Federal Reserve reassured on economic stimulus.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 37.85 points to greet noon ET at 12,554.74, off its highs of the morning.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.49 cents to 95.96 cents U.S., as the Bank of Canada kept its key rate unchanged at 1% and indicated it is in no rush to raise rates.
The industrials group rose as Canadian National Railways gained $1.02 to $105.38.
Financials rose with Royal Bank ahead 47 cents to $63.05.
Tech stocks also lifted the TSX as BlackBerry improved by eight cents to $9.57.
The base metals sector lost early momentum but was still ahead as September copper on the Nymex dipped five cents to $3.13 U.S. a pound. First Quantum Minerals advanced 14 cents to $15.92.
The energy sector edged up as Canadian Natural Resources was ahead 34 cents to $33.27.
The gold sector lost as Iamgold faded eight cents to $4.78.
In other corporate news, movie threatre operator Cineplex Inc. has made a conditional offer to buy EK3 Technologies Inc., a private company based in London, Ont., that provides in-store digital signage for major retailers and financial institutions.
Cineplex says it would pay about $40 million up front plus the potential for performance-related payments that could push the total to $78 million. Cineplex gained 28 cents to $37.99.
Jovian Capital Corp. said Tuesday it has entered into an acquisition agreement with Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.
Jovian said the life and health insurance company has agreed to pay $10.23 in cash or a 0.2386 portion of Industrial Alliance's common share for all issued and outstanding shares of the Toronto-based wealth and asset manager. Jovian shares surged $3.11 or 44.1% to $10.16.
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 dipped into the red 3.86 points to 906.98
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive by lunch hour, led by industrials and global base metals, each progressing 0.8%, while metals and mining improved 0.7%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by gold, down 2.1%, materials, off 1.1%, and utilities, sliding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as investors welcomed dovish comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
But gains were held in check by a weaker-than-expected housing report.
The Dow Jones Industrials took on 18.84 points to pause for lunch Wednesday at 15,470.70
The S&P 500 index improved 3.94 points to 1,680.20. The NASDAQ Composite was up 13.02 points to 3,611.52
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.
Shares of Mattel fell after the toymaker said earnings fell in the second quarter on charges and strategic investments.
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
During testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Bernanke reiterated that monetary policy will remain "highly accommodative" for the foreseeable future. However, he added that the Fed's $85-billion-U.S. per-month bond buying program is "by no means on a preset course."
Bernanke said that the pace of the program could increase if the economy falters, but he stressed that it could also be reduced "somewhat more quickly" if the recovery accelerates.
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 2.48% from Tuesday’s 2.53%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered two cents to $106.02 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $20.70 to $1,270 U.S. an ounce.
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