Equities in Toronto opened higher on Wednesday, led by shares of energy companies, as oil prices gained after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of an international nuclear deal with Iran.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 45.13 points to open Wednesday at 15,887.84
The Canadian dollar improved 0.44 cents to 77.64 cents U.S.
Enbridge said on Wednesday it would sell a 49% stake in some North American and German renewable power assets for $1.75 billion to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Enbridge shares rallied 89 cents, or 2.2%, to $41.30.
Sun Life Financial's quarterly profit beat analysts' estimates on Tuesday as the company sold more managed funds and paid lower tax rates for its U.S. business.
Sun Life shares faltered 63 cents, or 1.2%, to $52.25.
CIBC cut the price target on Alaris Royalty to $18.00 from $21.00. Alaris shares tumbled 92 cents, or 5.6%, to $15.60.
RBC cut the target price on Liquor Stores NA to $9.00 from $10.00. Liquor Stores stepped back 67 cents, or 7%, to $8.88.
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on Surge Energy to $3.50 from $3.25. Surge shares gained 10 cents, or 4.2%, to 2.50.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that the value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities increased 3.1% to $8.4 billion in March, following a 2.8% decline in February
The agency went on to attribute the hike to higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings, particularly in Quebec and British Columbia, and by the commercial component.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange notched up 0.64 points to 771.46
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, as energy thundered higher 1.9%, while materials were better by 0.3%, and telecoms were 0.1% to the good.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, down 0.8%, utilities fell 0.5%, and consumer discretionary stocks, off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Wednesday as energy shares jumped on the back of a strong rally in oil prices. The move higher in stocks and oil follows President Donald Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 41.74 points to 24,401.95, with Chevron and Exxon Mobil as the best-performing stocks in the index.
The S&P 500 gained 9.03 points to 2,680.95, as utilities fell 2.5%, as energy rose 1.7%.
The NASDAQ picked up 18.92 points to 7,285.82
Chevron and Exxon Mobil both rose more than 1.5%.
Meanwhile, in corporate news, shares of WalMart fell 3.2% after the company agreed to buy 77% of Flipkart for $16 billion. Flipkart is am e-commerce company based in India.
Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. would be walking away from the Iran deal and that sanctions on the Middle Eastern country would be reinstated. In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, this was a campaign promise that Trump had pledged.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell back, raising yields to 3% from Tuesday’s 2.97%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices powered ahead $1.85 a barrel to $70.91 U.S.
Gold prices added $1.50 to $1,314.70 U.S. an ounce.
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