Investors shook off the jitters about lower oil prices and started buying again Wednesday.
The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 131.67 points to begin the day at 14,751.74
The Canadian dollar moved up 0.36 cents to 88.02 cents U.S.
Royal Bank of Canada reported a strong fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by double-digit earnings gains at its wealth management arm. RBC shares hiked 58 cents to $82.00
Chrysler Canada gained on Ford Motor's Canadian unit for the second month in a row in November, pulling within 920 vehicles of the sales leader.
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on Bank of Montreal to $87 from $89, with a buy rating. BMO shares dipped 38 cents to $81.04.
Canaccord Genuity also cut the rating on Golden Queen Mining to sell from hold. Golden Queen shares took on four cents to $1.16.
On the economic front, a monthly gauge of the Canadian manufacturing sector held steady at a 12-month high in November. The RBC Canadian PMI remained at 55.3 last month, matching a high point set in November last year and again in October. A measure above 50 indicates the manufacturing sector is expanding.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz is keeping the trend-setting interest rate at one per cent, even as Canada's recent economic performance has the look of a "broadening recovery."
In its interest-rate announcement Wednesday, the central bank cautioned that improvements to Canada's economic health have been offset by risks such as sliding oil prices and high household debt.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 3.37 points to 723.64
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher to begin the day, with gold and energy each hiking 2.6%, materials up 2.3%.
The four laggards were weighed by consumer staples, down 1.1%, telecoms, off 0.5%, and health-care, down 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded around the flatline as investors weighed a slew of data expected over the next two days.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 11.24 points to open Wednesday at 17,890.79
The S&P 500 tallied 5.11 points to 2,071.66. The NASDAQ index gained 4.71 points to 4,760.52
Abercrombie & Fitch reported a disappointing quarter before Wall Street opened, while Aeropostale is expected to post results after the bell.
The ISM services index beat expectations with a leap to a three-month high of 59.3 for November.
Before the open, ADP report on private payrolls showed sector employment is keeping up its recent pace in November, although the 208,000 new jobs was a shade below expectations.
Other data for Wednesday the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report on the economy.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sank, raising yields to 2.30% from Tuesday’s 2.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on 91 cents to $67.78 U.S.
Gold prices gained $4.30 at $1,203.70 U.S.
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