The Toronto stock market was higher Wednesday as investors considered a variety of earnings reports from the retail, energy and mining sectors.
The S&P/TSX composite index took on 45.87 points to close Wednesday at 14,628.98
The Canadian dollar fell 0.12 cents at 91.24 cents U.S.
Given the recent runup in the TSX, experts say the index could be due for a correction. The benchmark is up about 7% this year.
It was a heavy day for Canadian earnings news as Loblaw Cos. said adjusted net earnings went up by 3.7% to $139 million or 49 cents a share in the first quarter, beating estimates of 46 cents.
The grocer also boosted its dividend about 2.1% to 24.5 cents a share and its stock was up $1.86. or 4.1%, to $47.66.
Analysts note the positive showing comes after the company spent heavily in recent years on consultants and IT groups to put in systems to better track inventory.
Barrick Gold Corp. posted a steep drop in its first-quarter adjusted net earnings to $238 million U.S., or 20 cents per share, from $923 million U.S., or 92 cents per share a year ago due to a decrease in metal prices and lower gold sales volumes.
Results beat analyst estimates by a penny. Revenues were $2.6 billion U.S. compared with $3.4 billion U.S. for the comparable year-earlier period. Its shares dipped 21 cents to $19.14 amid lower gold prices Wednesday.
The information technology sector also lifted the TSX after IT services company CGI Group said adjusted net earnings were up 28.6% at $229.6 million, or 72 cents per diluted share, beating analysts' expectations of 68 cents and its shares jumped $1.44, or 3.8%, to $39.52. Revenues were up 7% to $2.7 billion.
The TSX base metals sector edged higher while July copper moved five cents lower to $3.03 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources climbed 34 cents to $24.94
The energy sector declined as Suncor Energy doffed 32 cents to $42.28.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reports today that gross domestic product inched up in this country by 0.2% in February, powered mostly by mining and oil and gas extraction as well as manufacturing.
The agency’s Industrial Product Price Index hiked 0.4% in March, mainly due to higher prices for meat, fish and dairy products.
StatsCan’s Raw Materials Price Index increased 0.6% in March, led by animals and animal products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fought its way higher 1.45 points to close Wednesday at 1,001.50
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher on the day, as consumer staples surged 2.5%, industrials grew 1.9% and information technology took on 1.1%.
The four laggards were weighed by health-care and gold, each down 0.6%, while energy stocks settled 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow hit an all-time closing high after the U.S. Federal Reserve released a policy statement that met market expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 45.47 points to end the day at 16,580.84
The S&P 500 eked up 5.62 points to 1,883.95, and the NASDAQ composite index recovered 11.02 points to 4,114.56
Social media stocks were in focus after Twitter posted uninspiring first-quarter results late Tuesday. Twitter shares were down more than 10% in early trading, falling to their lowest level since the company went public last year.
Facebook shares fell in early trading, but bounced back as the day wore on.
Energizer shares jumped after the battery company announced plans to split into two companies, one for Energizer batteries and other household products and another for personal care brands such as Schick and Playtex.
In other corporate news, Time Warner reported earnings and sales that topped forecasts, helped by strong revenue from the Lego movie.
Shares of Royal Dutch Shell rose after the oil giant reported better-than-expected quarterly results and hiked its dividend. Other mega energy companies are set to release their results later this week.
eBay shares declined a day after the online marketplace reported disappointing earnings. It's one of the biggest losers of the day among S&P 500 companies.
Yelp is reporting after the bell.
It's been a big week for merger talk. While nothing is quite as large as the $100 billion U.S. that Pfizer is willing to pay to acquire AstraZeneca, there are other deals in the works. Exelon agreed to acquire rival utility Pepco Holdings in a $6.8-billion U.S. all-cash deal.
Takeover talk continues overseas, with shares of French company Alstom rallying 8% in Europe after General Electric bid $13.5 billion U.S. to take over the firm's power divisions. German firm Siemens may make a counter offer as well.
The Fed reduced its bond buying program by another $10 billion U.S. per month. The central bank said in a statement that the economy has begun to rebound after faltering in the winter due to severe weather.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the U.S. economy, grew at just a 0.1% annual pace in the first quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said. Economists had anticipated that winter weather would take a toll on growth, but the result was worse than most forecasts.
But not all the morning's economic news was bad. Payroll processor ADP said the private sector added 220,000 jobs in April. That's the strongest job growth since November.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained some ground, lowering yields to 2.65% from Tuesday’s 2.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dumped $1.47 to $99.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $4.20 to $1,293.40 U.S. an ounce.
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