The Toronto stock market was slightly higher Wednesday as traders found some distraction from American debt worries in the expected nomination of a new Federal Reserve chief who will likely be in no rush to wrap up stimulus measures.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved up 12.77 to greet noon at 12,705.18
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.28 cents to 96.15 cents U.S.
The telecom sector advanced with BCE ahead 43 cents to $44.16.
Financials were also positive and Scotiabank climbed 40 cents to $59.23.
The energy sector was ahead with Suncor Energy ahead 33 cents to $36.14.
The base metals group edged up as December copper fell six cents to $3.24 U.S. a pound. First Quantum Minerals climbed 27 cents to $17.82.
The gold sector declined, as Goldcorp faded 44 cents to $25.03.
In earnings news, the Jean Coutu Group posted quarterly net earnings of $208.2 million, or 99 cents per share, largely as a result of the sale of its stake in U.S. chain Rite Aid.
The retailer said it plans to return up to $502 million to shareholders by way of share buyback and a one-time dividend of 50 cents per share.
Excluding the one-item items, the company earned $49.9 million or 24 cents per share, about level with year-earlier earnings of $50 million or 23 cents but missing analyst estimates by a penny. Its shares fell 84 cents to $18.07.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange collapsed 9.75 points to 929.61
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups remained higher midday, led by telecoms, up 1.3%, while real-estate and global base metals each took on 0.7%.
The five laggards were weighed by gold, down 1.3%, materials, off 1%, and information technology, down 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The government is still shut down, and there's been little progress on raising the debt limit. But there was one bit of news from Washington that kept investors from dumping stocks again.
Janet Yellen's nomination as next chair of the Federal Reserve helped stabilize, if not necessarily excite, Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrials picked up 2.76 points to stop for lunch at 14,779.30
The S&P 500 index faltered 2.85 points to 1,652.60. The NASDAQ was down 33.04 points to 3,661.80
The Dow Jones industrial has dropped more than 350 points since the shutdown of the federal government began on Oct. 1.
Though the broader market was little changed, shares of many momentum stocks sank for a second day and weighed on the NASDAQ.
Yahoo, Priceline and Facebook declined more than 2%. Shares of Tesla, Netflix and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters were down more than 4%.
Alcoa shares rose after the aluminum producer's profits beat expectations.
Shares of Yum! Brands, meanwhile, tumbled after the operator of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut reported weak earnings and continued problems in its China division.
Costco missed on revenue and reported a slight bump in same store sales. Earnings per shares came in better than expected. The stock was down in early trading.
Retailer Family Dollar beat earnings forecasts, while revenue was roughly in line with estimates. But shares fell on a relatively weak outlook.
Men's Wearhouse shares spiked even though the company's board rejected a $2.4- billion U.S. bid from smaller rival Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, setting the stage for another nasty battle for the men's apparel retailer.
Yellen will be nominated by President Obama at 3 p.m. ET. She has long been a favoured candidate for the position and shares much of current chairman Ben Bernanke's thinking on loose monetary policy.
An hour before the Yellen announcement, investors will get a look at the minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting. The document will be closely scrutinized for clues about the central bank's plans for its bond-buying program.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury were down, raising yields to 2.65% from Tuesday’s 2.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed $1.84 to $101.65 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shed $24.40 to $1,300.20 U.S. an ounce.
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