Stocks moved higher, as investors breathed a sigh of relief, having gathered in the Bank of Canada decision, released shortly after the trading day began.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 37.04 points to begin the day at 14,345.48
The Canadian dollar regained 0.33 cents to 82.88 cents U.S., after hitting a six-year low against the greenback on Tuesday.
The central bank announced this morning that it is lowering its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 0.75% The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1%, and the deposit rate is 0.5%.
Canadian energy transportation and storage company Inter Pipeline plans to spend $400 million on its capital program in 2015, less than a third of last year's budget, the company said on Tuesday. Inter shares gathered 41 cents, or 1.3%, to begin the day at $31.07.
Canada's Competition Bureau said on Tuesday it had asked for records from Indigo Books and Music Inc, the country's biggest bookstore chain, as part of a probe into alleged anti-competitive practices in the e-book market. Indigo shares were unchanged at $9.91.
National Bank Financial cut the rating on CI Financial to sector perform from outperform. CI shares gained two cents at $32.24.
Canaccord Genuity raised the rating on Gran Tierra Energy to buy from hold. Gran Tierra shares hiked five cents to $2.89.
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported this morning that wholesale trade ditched 0.3% in November, to $54 billion, following two consecutive monthly gains.
Decreases in three of seven subsectors -- machinery, equipment and supplies -- were partially offset by higher sales in the motor vehicle and parts subsector.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eased 1.59 points to 671.57.
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher in the first hour of trading, with energy springing to life 1.7%, while the metals and mining and consumer staple groups each advanced 0.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by telecoms, down 1%, while utilities and gold each slid 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks wavered on Wednesday, as investors pondered expanded stimulus from the European Central Bank and after results from International Business Machines disappointed.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 49.80 points to 17,465.43, with IBM leading blue-chip losses that included 20 of 30 components.
The S&P 500 fell 0.04 points to 2,022.51, with energy pacing gains and technology losses among its 10 major sectors.
The NASDAQ index tacked on 2.38 points to 4,657.23
UnitedHealth Group rose in early New York trading after posting a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.
IBM dropped as investors fixated on a less-than-expected forecast for 2015 and Netflix rallied after reporting an adjusted quarterly profit well above estimates.
After sharp declines at the start, benchmark indexes turned higher after Dow Jones news wires quoted sources in reporting that the ECB's executive board had proposed monthly bond purchases of roughly 50 billion euros in a quantitative easing program that would last at least a year.
ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny reportedly advised investors against building overly high expectations about the outcome of a single policy meeting, curbing enthusiasm about the likelihood of a large-scale bond-purchasing program.
Ahead of Wednesday's open, stock futures maintained losses after data showing U.S. housing starts climbed more than expected in December in a hopeful sign for the sluggish housing-market recovery.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained a bit of ground, lowering yields to 1.80% from Tuesday’s 1.81%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved higher 78 cents per barrel to $47.25 U.S.
Gold prices shone brighter by $9.90 an ounce to $1,304.10 U.S.
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