Stocks opened higher on Wednesday as energy shares were buoyed by crude oil prices, which rose ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 125.87 points to begin Wednesday at 15,020.37
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.11 cents to 76.13 cents U.S.
Air Canada reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, hurt by higher fuel costs.
Shares in The Maple Leaf Airline got lift of $1.54, or 6.9%, to $24.95.
Cenovus Energy reported a loss for the third quarter, hurt by a fall in Canadian crude prices amid rising oil supplies.
Cenovus shares gained 14 cents, or 1.3%, to $11.23.
Spruce Point Capital Management, which focuses on in-depth research on vulnerabilities of companies, sees room for Dollarama’s stock price to tumble roughly 40% after the Canadian retailer raised prices and fewer customers are shopping at its stores.
Dollarama shares subsided $2.21, or 5.8%, to $36.24.
Desjardins raised the rating on Altagas to buy from hold. Altagas dropped 50 cents in price, or 3%, to $16.16.
Desjardins raised the rating on CGI to buy from hold. CGI shares vaulted $1.67, or 2.1%, to $80.09.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on Marathon Gold to $2.00 from $1.60. Marathon shares took on a penny, or 1.4%, to 75 cents.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that the economy rose for the seventh straight month, with gross domestic product up 0.1% in August.
Growth was concentrated in oil and gas extraction and finance and insurance, which more than offset declines in 12 of 20 industrial sectors.
The agency’s industrial product price index edged up 0.1% in September. Higher prices for chemicals and chemical products and energy and petroleum products were largely offset by lower prices for primary non-ferrous metal products.
StatsCan’s raw materials price index decreased 0.9% in the same month, mainly due to lower prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 2.72 points to 627.46
All but three of the 12 subgroups were positive in the first hour, with health-care up 3.5%, while energy and information technology were each stronger 2.2%.
The three laggards were gold, off 2%, utilities, down 0.8%, and communications, sinking 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose sharply on Wednesday for a second straight day as strong earnings from General Motors and Facebook lifted sentiment. But the major averages were still on pace for sharp October losses.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 282.04 points, or 1.1%, to 25,156.68, led by Visa. The Dow also crossed above its 200-day moving average, a key level watched by traders.
The S&P 500 tallied 35.86 points, or 1.3%, to 2,718.16, as communication services outperformed.
The NASDAQ hiked 160.1 points, or 2.2%, to 7,321.75, advanced 2.3% and climbed out of correction territory.
General Motors shares spiked 7% higher after the company reported quarterly results that easily topped expectations. The company said it sold fewer cars in the third quarter, but a higher price, boosting its bottom line.
Facebook shares rose 6.5% after the company reported on Tuesday better-than-expected earnings. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during the company's earnings call Facebook plans to invest significantly in its business next year. He also said Facebook plans to build products such as Facebook Watch and Instagram TV.
The stock's rise on Wednesday led Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet higher.
Still, the major averages are down sharply for the month, through Tuesday's close.
The S&P 500 is down 7.9%, on pace for its biggest one-month loss since May 2010, when it fell 8.2%.
The Dow has lost 6% in October and is on track to post its largest monthly decline since August 2015, when it dropped 6.6%.
The NASDAQ has plunged 11% this month, and is tracking for its worst month since October 2007, when it plunged 17.7%.
On the data front, private payrolls rose by 227,000 in October, according to a report from ADP and Moody's Analytics. The gain is more than economists expected.
This report comes ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls report, which is scheduled for release Friday morning.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, pushing yields up to 3.16% from Tuesday’s 3.11%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices demurred 32 cents at $65.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices descended $11.30 an ounce to $1,214.00
Related Stories
