Equities in Toronto hiked on Wednesday, helped by gains in telecom shares after BCE said it would take regional telecom Bell Aliant private by buying the stake it does not already own in the company.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 61.36 points to greet noon hour at 15,376.49
The Canadian dollar was up 0.03 at 93.15 cents U.S.
Oil and gas shares also rose after a report that Spanish oil company Repsol SA is considering a takeover bid for Talisman Energy.
Shares of Bell Aliant and Talisman were the two biggest contributors to the rise of the stock index, which continued to touch record highs. Bell Aliant surged 10.6% to $31.17.
Talisman was last up 7.3% at $11.33 before the stock was halted, pending news.
BCE, which said it would pay $3.95 billion to take Bell Aliant private, rose 1% to $49.52. The telecom sector climbed.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales in May increased 0.7% to $42.0 billion in May, with gains reported in seven of 11 subsectors, representing 56% of retail trade
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.05 points to 1,013.93.
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher midday, led by telecoms, up 2.2%, metals and mining, up 1.3%, and energy, better by 0.8%.
Only information technology stock were in the red, and 0.3% at that.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors shifted focus to improving corporate earnings Wednesday as geopolitical jitters eased slightly.
The Dow Jones Industrials faded 32.82 points to 17,080.72. The Dow remains just shy of its intraday record of 17,151.56 that was set just last week
The S&P 500 gained 3.42 points to 1,986.95. If it closes above 1,985.59, that will mark its 26th record close this year.
The NASDAQ composite hiked 16.95 points to 4,472.97
Shares of Apple bounced higher a day after the company reported a quarterly jump in sales and profit. Investors largely overlooked a more cautious outlook for the current quarter, as well as slowing iPad sales.
PepsiCo jumped nearly 3% after the food-and-beverage behemoth beat the Street and boosted its outlook for the year.
Microsoft rose as investors focused on the tech giant's revenue, which beat Wall Street's expectations.
The latest numbers from Delta Air Lines should keep the airline's stock flying high. The carrier's shares ascended about 4% following strong earnings.
Dow Chemical impressed investors by posting across-the-board sales growth and earnings that beat expectations.
Boeing shares declined, after the jet maker reported a lower-than-expected revenue increase. On the upside, Boeing reported earnings that beat expectations and upped its outlook for the year.
Intuitive Surgical raced 13% higher a day after the robotic surgery company posted profits and revenue that topped estimates, despite coming in lower than a year ago.
Biogen Idec provided a boost to the much-maligned biotech sector. Shares surged 10% after the drug maker logged earnings and revenue that trounced expectations.
Major indexes across Europe floated higher after EU officials stopped short of imposing tough economic sanctions on Moscow.
Still, the relief could be short-lived as Europe demanded Russia's "full and immediate" cooperation over Ukraine or risk losing access to European finance, defense equipment and energy technology.
Also, Ukraine said a pair of its fighter jets were shot down in rebel held territory on Wednesday, underscoring the continued tensions.
Germany's DAX gained 0.4%, while Russia's Micex index slipped 0.3%, taking its losses for the year to nearly 7%.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 2.46% from Tuesday’s 2.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added 50 cents to $102.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added one dollar to $1,307.30 U.S. an ounce.
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