Stocks enjoyed a big boost midday Wednesday led by energy companies, gold miners and railway stocks, while consumer names weighed.
The S&P/TSX composite index soared 172.39 points, or 1.3%, to greet noon hour Wednesday at 13,871.99.
The Canadian dollar was gained 0.73 cents at 76.11 cents U.S.
Among major stock index movers were Canadian National Railway, which rose 3.9% to $82.57 as higher freight rates helped it report a lift in revenue despite lower volumes.
Barrick Gold Corp advanced 4.7% to $10.49, as the price of bullion pushed up ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate policy decision.
On the negative side, convenience store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard slipped 2.3% to $57.47 and Cott Corp fell 8.9% to $13.83 after the beverage company's earnings missed expectations.
The consumer staples group was down, and discretionary names also slipped.
The energy group see-sawed in early trade and was last up 2%, with Canadian Natural Resources up 2.5% at $30.31.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.11 points to 547.59
All but three of the 13 TSX subgroups were positive by noon hour, as gold gained 3.5%, energy gushed 2.8%, and metals and mining moved higher 2.6%.
The three laggards were consumer staples and real-estate, each down 0.2%, with consumer discretionaries 0.03% to the bad.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher Wednesday, helped by a recovery in oil prices as investors awaited the afternoon release of the Fed statement.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 112.77 points to 17,694.20, with IBM and Apple contributing the most to gains. The blue chips index also hit its highest levels since Aug. 3.
The S&P 500 progressed 14.95 points to 2,080.84. Energy gained more than 2% to lead advancing sectors in the S&P 500.
The NASDAQ index hiked 35.39 points to 5,065.54, as declines in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Gilead and Akamai mostly offset gains in Apple.
Earnings season continues with PayPal, Yelp and Western Digital among those due to report after the close.
After the close Tuesday, Apple reported quarterly profit of $1.96 U.S. per share, eight cents above estimates, with revenue slightly above forecasts. The company sold more than 48 million iPhones during the quarter and nearly doubled its China
In other corporate news, Hyatt Hotels is in talks to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts in a deal that is said to be as little as a week away, sources the media. On Tuesday, shares of Starwood jumped on news at least three Chinese firms are competing to win government approval for a bid on the hotel operator.
Activist investor Carl Icahn on Wednesday disclosed a large stake in AIG and called for the company to break itself up.
The U.S. advance September goods trade deficit was $58.63 billion.
The Federal Open Market Committee concludes its two-day monetary policy meeting Wednesday and is scheduled to release its statement at 2 p.m., ET. Most expect the central bank to keep rates unchanged.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sank, raising yields to 2.06% from Tuesday’s 2.04%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $2.46 a barrel to $45.66 U.S.
Gold prices spiked $12.42 to $1,179.30 U.S. an ounce.
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