Equities in Toronto opened higher on Wednesday, a day after temporarily hitting a 20-month high, as industrial and materials stocks gained and Encana Corp jumped on an upward revision to its margin forecast.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 27.76 points to open at 15,430.79.
The Canadian dollar poked up 0.54 cents to 74.93 cents U.S.
Encana Corp said it expects its margins in 2017 to exceed its previous target on lower costs and an expected rise in output in the second half of this year.
Encana shares skyrocketed 79 cents, or 4.9%, to $16.85.
Loop Capital raised the price target on Canadian Pacific Railway to $221 from $206. CP Rail shares gained $1.28 to $191.34.
Paradigm Capital raised the target price on Dundee Precious Metals to $5 from $2.75.
Dundee shares acquired two cents to $2.62.
Cowen and Company raises rating on Westjet Airlines to market perform from underperform.
Westjet shares got lift of 52 cents, or 2.3%, to $23.60.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange kept rolling, adding 3.79 points to 777.56
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, with industrials up 0.8%, real-estate gaining 0.4%, and financials advancing 0.3%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by health-care, falling off 1.7%, gold, ducking back 0.6%, and energy, 0.3% less energetic.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors looked out for the Federal Reserve's December meeting minutes, while the dollar retreated from a 14-year high.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 34.82 points to 19,916.58, with Boeing gaining the most.
The S&P 500 picked up 9.15 points to 2,266.98, with consumer discretionary issues leading advancers.
The NASDAQ composite index stayed positive 29.84 points to 5,458.93
Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler, Ford Motor and General Motors all reported better-than-expected auto sales for December, sending their stocks higher. The annualized selling rate is expected to be around a strong 17.5 million.
Investors will be looking for clues about what the central bank is expecting from President-elect Donald Trump in terms of fiscal stimulus. The Fed raised rates at its last meeting for just the second time in a decade and forecast three rate hikes for 2017. The minutes are scheduled for release at 2 p.m. ET.
In other economic news, mortgage applications tanked 12% for last week, from two weeks earlier as rising interest rates weighed.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note lost strength, raising yields to 2.46% from Tuesday’s 2.44%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Bond markets were closed Friday.
Oil prices inched up a cent to $52.34 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices grew $2.60 to $1,164.60 U.S. an ounce.
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