Stocks in Canada’s biggest market gained in early trade on Wednesday as crude oil's price jump helped energy stocks boost the resource-rich index.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 55.72 points to open Wednesday at 14,873.43
The Canadian dollar galloped 0.73 cents to 81.80 cents U.S.
Hudson's Bay Co reported a bigger adjusted loss, mainly due to higher administrative expenses and costs of sales. The company reported a net loss of $54 million, or 30 Canadian cents per share, in the first quarter, compared with a net profit of $176 million, or 97 cents per share, a year earlier.
Adjusted loss was $33 million in the quarter ended May 2, bigger than the $27 million it incurred a year earlier. Sales rose 11.7% to $2.07 billion. Bay shares added 19 cents, or 0.8%, to $24.20.
Hedge fund and activist shareholder FrontFour Capital Corp said on Tuesday it plans to vote against the proposed sale of troubled Legacy Oil + Gas to Crescent Point Energy Corp. Connecticut-based FrontFour owns 6.8% of outstanding Legacy shares and said in April it planned to nominate three directors to the debt-ridden company's board. Crescent Point agreed to acquire Legacy for shares and debt in a deal valued at $1.53 billion.
Legacy shares nicked up five cents to $2.60, while Crescent Point Energy gained 43 cents, or 1.6%, to $27.56.
KBW raised target price on Canaccord Genuity Group Inc to $8.00 from $7.00 after the company beat estimates, primarily driven by the firm's investment banking and advisory businesses. Canaccord shares were unchanged at $7.93.
Susquehanna cut the price target on Canadian National Railway Co to $66.00 from $68.00, given the sharper than expected rollover in shale-related and other bulk traffic for the company. CN shares dipped 63 cents to $71.97.
Susquehanna cut the price target on Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. to $185.00 from $189.00 citing weaker demand and negative mix for coal and grain. CP shares gained 50 cents to $204.15.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 2.87 points to 684.49
Nine of the 14 TSX subgroups were higher in the first hour, led by global base metals, up 1.8%, while metals and mining took on 1.7%, and energy gained 1.3%.
The five laggards were weighed most by telecoms, down 0.6%, health-care, off 0.5%, and information technology, fading 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Wednesday as investors eyed the morning's rally in bond yields and looked ahead to data that could shed light on the timing of a rate hike.
The Dow Jones Industrials triumphed 164.53 points to 17,928.57,
The S&P 500 index grew 17 points to 2,097.15, with information technology leading all 10 sectors higher.
The NASDAQ recovered 36.33 points to 5,050.25.
Chevron was among the blue-chip leaders as all the stocks in the index advanced.
Financials continued to rally with yields, with Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and PNC Financial hitting new highs.
Netflix surged 5% to a record after news its shareholders approved an increase in the company's share authorization, the precursor to a stock split. There's no indication yet for an exact ratio for the split.
Apple gained more than 1% despite reports that its newly announced Apple Music service is facing antitrust scrutiny from the attorneys general of New York and Connecticut. The probe will center on Apple's negotiations with music companies on its paid subscription service.
The only data of note out Wednesday, total weekly mortgage applications, showed an 8.4% jump on a seasonally adjusted basis as buyers rushed to get mortgages ahead of rising rates.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries stumbled, rocketing yields to 2.47% from Tuesday’s 2.43%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked $1.22 a barrel to $61.36 U.S.
Gold prices leaped $10.60 at $1,188.20 U.S. an ounce.
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