Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday as energy shares gained from a rise in Brent Crude oil price to $76 a barrel.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index strengthened 59.96 points to greet noon hour Wednesday at 15,982.57 – off its highs of the morning
The Canadian dollar gained 0.97 cents at 77.79 cents U.S.
Shares of Suncor Energy were up 84 cents, or 1.7%, to $51.56, and Canadian Natural Resources, up 42 cents to $45.01 among the biggest boosts in the energy sector
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were MEG Energy, which jumped 52 cents, or 5.8%, to $9.39, and Enerplus Corp, which rose 73 cents, or 4.8%
The second biggest decliner on TSX was Keyera Corp. Shares of the company slipped two cents to $34.73, after it said it was proceeding with phase two of its Wapiti gas plant.
The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1.25% The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1.5% and the deposit rate is 1%, however, a poll of economists says firmer price and wage inflation will prompt two increases in the second half of 2018.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said its Industrial Product Price Index increased 0.5% in April, mainly due to higher prices for energy and petroleum products.
The agency’s Raw Materials Price Index rose 0.7% in April, primarily due to higher prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture dropped 0.77 points to 767.88
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, with energy rumbling up 1.7%, while materials and information technology each climbed 0.5%.
The four laggards were weighed by utilities, down 0.7%, telecoms, off 0.3%, and gold, slumping 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher Wednesday as financial stocks rebounded from steep losses in the prior session and Italian credit fears eased.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 268.28 points, or 1.1%, to 24,629.73, with Boeing, Chevron and 3M leading the blue-chip stocks higher.
The S&P 500 gained 32.55 points, or 1.2%, to 2,722.65, as a rise in U.S. interest rates ushered financial stocks higher and a rise in oil prices provided relief to a recently battered energy sector.
The NASDAQ strode higher 70.17 points, or 1%, to 7,466.77, amid gains in Facebook, Intel and Nvidia. Microsoft hit an all-time high above $99 per share, north of its initial public offering prices back in 1986.
On Wall Street, shares of Target rallied 2.7% after Bank of America designated the retailer as one of its top investing ideas.
Meanwhile, shares of Dick's Sporting Goods jumped 26% Wednesday after it beat first-quarter expectations and boosted its earnings forecast. The move puts Dick's on track for its best day ever.
In the prior session, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 391.64 points — or 1.6%— after Italy's prime minister over the weekend appointed former International Monetary Fund official Carlo Cottarelli as interim prime minister to help restore political order amid a swell in populist sentiment.
Chinese trade negotiations also captured Wall Street's attention Wednesday. The White House's Tuesday decision to continue to pursue action on some $50 billion worth of Chinese goods could stall talks with Beijing, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Hiring decelerated south of the border in May, with private companies adding 178,000 positions even amid other signs of a tightening jobs market, according to a report Wednesday from ADP and Moody's Analytics.
The number missed expectations of economists who had forecast 190,000. Moody's Analytics and ADP also revised its April number downward to 163,000, a decline of 41,000 from the original 204,000.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped sharply, raising yields to 2.85% from Tuesday’s 2.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up $1.68 at $68.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $2.20 to $1,306.30 U.S. an ounce.
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