Stocks in Canada’s largest market headed skyward yet again Wednesday, largely on strength in resource stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite took on 88.24 points to close Wednesday at 14,840.49, after a gain of 150 points-plus Tuesday
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.14 cents to 76.14 cents U.S.
As was the case Tuesday, gold stocks took the top of podium Wednesday, as Iamgold Corp. climbed 12 cents to $49.80, while heavyweight Barrick Gold bolted higher $1.22, or 5.7%, to $22.69.
In the materials sector, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan hiked 25 cents, or 1.2%, to $21.37.
Energy stocks also had a banner day, with Penn West Petroleum soaring 11 cents, or 4.8%, to $2.39, while Suncor climbed 42 cents, or 1.1%, to $38.38.
Industrials weighed things down, however, with Air Canada grounded 25 cents, or 1.9%, to $12.80.
Telecoms settled, as Rogers Communications tumbled 57 cents, or 1.1%, to $53.97.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals retreated two cents to $28.95, to weigh on health-care issues.
The Bank of Canada maintained its target for the overnight rate at 0.5%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 0.75% and the deposit rate is 0.25%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange grew 5.76 points to 789.40
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, with gold shining brighter 2.8%, materials popping 1.9%, and energy gaining 1.8%
The three laggards were industrials, down 0.5%, telecoms, down 0.3%, and health-care, off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday, helped by better-than-expected earnings and rising oil prices, following the release of key economic data from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its lows of the day, but still gained 40.68 points to end the day at 18,202.62, with American Express leading advancers and Intel the top decliner.
The S&P 500 added 4.69 points to 2,144.29, with energy leading eight sectors higher and consumer staples lagging.
The NASDAQ composite index gained 2.58 points to 5,246.41
Morgan Stanley, Abbott Labs and BB&T were among the companies that exceeded expectations on both earnings per share and revenue. Morgan Stanley continued the trend of big banks beating forecasts on strong performances from trading.
Dow component Intel also reported better-than-expected results Tuesday afternoon, but its stock fell nearly 6% on light revenue guidance. Companies scheduled to report are eBay, American Express and Mattel, among others.
In economic news, The Fed released the latest iteration of its so-called Beige Book, which summarizes economic conditions in the U.S.
In it, the Fed said economic activity increased at a modest pace in most regions. The report is expected to garner more attention than usual as investors search for more clues about when the central bank will raise interest rates.
The energy sector extended gains after the Energy Information Administration reported a 5.3-million-barrel crude oil drawdown.
Other economic data released Wednesday included housing start and permits for September. Housing starts fell 9% last month, but permits spiked 6.3%. Also, U.S. mortgage applications rose 0.6% last week, as higher rates did not keep folks from buying.
Market participants will also keep an eye on the U.S. presidential election, with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump scheduled to hold their third and final debate before the election. Clinton currently holds a double-digit lead over Trump, according to a poll released Sunday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were up, lowering yields to 1.74% from Tuesday’s 1.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.08 at $51.37 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices hiked $7.30 to $1,270.20 U.S. an ounce.
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