Equities in Canada’s largest centre rose to a record high at open on Wednesday, helped by a jump in shares of cannabis companies as the Reddit community behind a recent trading frenzy pumped up these stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 94.04 points, to 18,502.66.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.07 cents to 78.81 cents U.S.
Retail investor participation at Canadian exchange operator TMX Group rose to 45% of total equities trading in January, from 35% a year ago, on the back of the Reddit-driven trading frenzy.
TMX, which trades under the symbol “X”, took on $2.70, or 2.1%, to $128.69.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on Lithium Americas to $31.00 from $20.00. Lithium shares gathered 79 cents, or 2.8%, to $29.11.
BMO raised the target price on Absolute Software to $21.00 from $18.00. Absolute shares rocketed 96 cents, or 5.4%, to $18.66.
Scotiabank raises target price on FirstService to $153.00 from $128.00. FirstService jumped $6.93, or 3.6%, to $197.97.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 3.3 points after Tuesday’s heavy losses to 1,074.59.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground in the first hour, with health-care again sprinting, 7.6% Wednesday, energy up 1.7% and information technology ahead 1%.
The five laggards were weighed most by industrials and utilities, each down 0.3%, and communications off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks jumped on Wednesday to resume their February rally, as investors cheered a batch of solid corporate earnings as well as data showing subdued inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 114.17 points to begin Wednesday at 31,490
The S&P 500 recouped 13.27 points to 3,924.32.
The NASDAQ Composite added further to its all-time record, 65.81 points to 14,073.50.
Coca-Cola rose 1% after the company topped Wall Street’s estimates for its fourth-quarter earnings with cost-cutting efforts. Under Armour jumped 11% after reporting a surprise profit for the holiday quarter as sales were boosted by strong digital growth.
Twitter popped 13.6% after the social media company beat Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations.
Better-than-expected earnings from Lyft, Cisco Systems, Mattel and Yelp also boosted sentiment on Wall Street. Lyft reported signs of a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Traders will also be watching closely Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech before The Economic Club of New York at 2:00 p.m. ET.
The advance came after data from the U.S. Labor Department indicated tamed inflationary pressure. The U.S. consumer price index rose 0.3% in January, matching expectations from economists polled by Dow Jones. The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, was unchanged last month.
Still, Wall Street is having a strong February with the S&P 500 up more than 5% so far. Investors remained optimistic about additional COVID-19 stimulus. House Democrats unveiled the details of a relief proposal that included $1,400 direct checks with faster phase-outs than previous bills.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys gained, lowering yields to 1.14% from Tuesday’s 1.16%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices eked higher two cents to $58.38 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $5.70 to $1,843.20 U.S. an ounce.
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