Rising energy and gold stocks pushed the Toronto stock market modestly higher Wednesday.
The S&P/TSX composite index remained positive 12.28 points to close Wednesday at 14,974.65
The Canadian dollar was positive 0.18 cents at 93.25 cents U.S.
The health-care sector was the biggest advancer, as Valeant Pharmaceutical sprang up $5.52, or 4.3%, to $134.93.
The TSX energy sector was ahead, as Imperial Oil tacked on six cents to $55.58, while Suncor gained 13 cents to $44.71.
On the corporate front, Pengrowth Energy Corp. announced a doubling of the value of its proven reserves at its flagship Lindbergh bitumen project in Alberta from $1 billion to $2 billion. Pengrowth shares advanced 15 cents to $7.47
The gold sector advanced as Barrick Gold added three cents to $19.07, and Goldcorp moved higher 15 cents to $29.39.
Metal prices turned higher with July copper up two cents to $3.17 U.S. a pound, but the base metals component was a leading decliner. Teck Resources slid 31 cents to $23.63.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.61 points to 1,014.97
Seven of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive on the day, as health-care gained 1%, gold hiked 0.7%, and real-estate was 0.4% to the good.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by metals and mining, down 1.4%, consumer staples, down 0.3%, and financials, fading 0.2%. Information technology issues were unchanged Wednesday.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks bounced Wednesday after a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Aereo and still chugged along well in afternoon trading.
The Dow Jones Industrials advanced 49.38 points to 16,867.51. It's a turnaround from Tuesday when the blue chips shed 119 points, their biggest one-day percentage drop in more than a month.
The S&P 500 gained 9.55 points to 1,959.53, and the NASDAQ composite gained 29.40 points to 4,379.76
CBS Corporation skyrocketed as much as 7% after the Supreme Court said streaming service Aereo's business model violates broadcasters' rights by using tiny antennas to snap up content on public airwaves. Shares of Disney, which owns broadcaster ABC, also jumped on the news, as did Comcast, owner of NBC, and Twenty-First Century Fox.
But media companies that own local affiliate stations experienced the biggest bounce, since they rely on redistributing content, which is essentially what Aereo does.
Shares of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the Tribune Company, and Gannett all surged.
Barnes and Noble shares soared as much as 10% after the struggling bookseller said it has begun taking steps to separate its retail and Nook segments. But the stock then pulled back, and was up around 3% by the closing bell.
General Mills slumped after the cereal maker reported disappointing earnings that were stymied by expensive promotional activity that didn't translate into greater sales.
Apollo Education ticked up after the for-profit college operator beat earnings estimates. Still, the company said degree enrollment sank significantly at the University of Phoenix.
And Monsanto is up over 5% after the company announced a big share buyback and strong quarterly results that topped Wall Street expectations.
Shares of Hanesbrands jumped 8% after the company said it planned to acquire French apparel-maker DBA Apparel in an all-cash deal. Mergers and acquisitions activity has spiked this year as companies try to capitalize on their high stock prices by using the cash to buy other companies.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Commerce Department said the economy shrank 2.9% in the first quarter, even uglier than the 1.8% decline that economists had predicted.
Analysts were expecting a weak final figure for the period, which included unusually harsh winter weather. In that regard, investors are largely shrugging off the bad news.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries hiked, lowering yields to 2.56% from Tuesday’s 2.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices accumulated 59 cents to $106.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices eased back 20 cents at $1,321.10 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
