Stocks were up slightly in Toronto at the open on Wednesday, despite hopes politicians south of the border would soon strike a deal to prevent the world's largest economy from defaulting on its debt.
The S&P/TSX composite index fought its way into the green 13.86 points to begin Wednesday at 12,945.32
The Canadian dollar reacquired 0.18 cents to 96.49 cents U.S.
SNC-Lavalin Group Ltd. slashed its full-year profit forecast after it took a nearly $75-million charge due to previously signed contracts in North Africa and in the hospital and road sectors that turned unprofitable. SNC stock tumbled $2.37, or 5.4%, in the first hour to $41.76 a share.
Kinross Gold Corp. will keep its main expansion in Mauritania on hold to 2015, no matter how far the gold price rises, as it plans to save rather than spend for now, its CEO Paul Rollinson told the media. Kinross shares dropped a dime each to $4.89.
Continental Resources Inc said it would be open to talks with TransCanada Corp. on its Keystone XL pipeline project, dealing with its carrying a greater amount of domestic U.S. oil instead of Canadian crude. The news caused a nine-cent rise in shares of TransCanada to $44.85.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales –moved down 0.2% in August to $49.5 billion, following three straight months of gains. Market call was for a rise of 0.2% during the month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 0.72 points to kick off Wednesday at 928.41.
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were stronger in the first hour, as health-care flexed 0.9%, energy stocks were 0.5% more energetic, and consumer staples tacked on 0.4%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by gold, off 1.8%, materials, sliding 1.1%, and the metals and mining group, down 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors are hoping for the best -- and bracing for the worst -- as the fiscal crisis in Washington comes to a head.
The Dow Jones Industrials sprang to life, rocketing 173.29 points, or 1.1%, to begin the session at 15,341.30
The S&P 500 index hiked 18.79 points to 1,716.85. The NASDAQ leaped 39.01 points to 3,833.02
There were also plenty of earnings results to sort through Wednesday.
Shares of Bank of America gained after the financial giant reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Mattel shares jumped after the Barbie and American Girl manufacturer reported quarterly revenue and profits that beat analysts' estimates.
Stanley Black & Decker tumbled roughly 10% after the power tools maker lowered its full-year earnings outlook. The company said it expected "uncertainty created by the U.S. government's sequestration and shutdown" to hurt business and consumer spending.
Meanwhile, shares in BlackRock and PepsiCo inched higher after both firms released quarterly results that topped forecasts. American Express, IBM and eBay are set to report after-hours.
After the bell Tuesday, Twitter announced plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange.
Intel shares slipped after the chipmaker issued a pessimistic outlook for the rest of 2013 and lowered its profit forecast late Tuesday. But shares ofYahoo rose following its earnings report.
The gains come as investors wait to see if lawmakers will reach an agreement before Thursday's debt ceiling deadline. A failure to reach an agreement could trigger a default on U.S. debt and chaos in global markets.
However, some analysts have downplayed the Thursday deadline, saying the Treasury Department has enough cash on hand to pay most of its obligations until the end of the month.
Rating agency Fitch put the U.S. on notice Tuesday afternoon, warning it could soon downgrade America's credit rating because of the "political brinkmanship" on display in Washington.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury faded, raising yields to 2.75% from Tuesday’s 2.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained nine cents to $101.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added 80 cents to $1,274 U.S. an ounce.
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