Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday after data showed that the economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in January, but gains were capped by declines in energy stocks as oil prices fell on concerns over fuel demand recovery.
The TSX nosed ahead 19 points to approach noon EDT Wednesday at 18,724.56.
The Canadian dollar was boosted 0.29 cents at 79.51 cents U.S.
Dollarama rose $2.03, or 3.9%, to $54.27, after reporting a 3.6% rise in quarterly sales as customers spent more on groceries and other household essentials during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Lithium Americas, which jumped $1.66, or 9.2%, to $19.75, and Hudbay Minerals, which rose 12 cents, or 1.4%, to $8.54, after RBC raised its rating to outperform from sector perform.
BlackBerry fell $1.21, or 10.3%, the most on the TSX, to $10.57, after a fourth-quarter revenue miss.
On the economic sheet, Statistics Canada’s industrial product price index In February, the Industrial Product Price Index rose 2.6%, the largest monthly increase in the index in over 40 years, since January 1980's advance of 3.8%.
The Raw Materials Price Index was up 6.6% month over month in February, the biggest gain since May 2020's hike of 15.0%.
Real gross domestic product rose 0.7% in January, following 0.1% growth in December.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sprang back up 12.45 points, or 1.3%, to 941.52.
The 12 TSX subgroups were in a dead heat between gainers and losers, as health-care sprinted 2.9%, while information technology and gold each gained 1.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by communications, off 1.2%, financials, down 1%, and consumer staples, falling 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors weighed the potential impact from President Joe Biden’s infrastructure spending plan.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained negative 0.19 points to 33,066.77.
The S&P 500 recovered 23.26 points, to 3,981.66.
The NASDAQ Composite recouped 213.95 points, or 1.6%, to 13,259.35, as the jump in bond yields eased.
Apple gained 2.4%, while Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix and Facebook all traded higher.
The Dow has advanced 6.9% and the S&P 500 is up 3.9%, month to date, on pace for their fourth positive month in five. For the quarter, the blue-chip Dow has added 8%, and the S&P 500 has risen 5.4%, on track for their fourth positive quarter in a row.
The NASDAQ is down 1.1%, on pace to break a four-month winning streak. For the quarter, it’s up 1.2%.
Biden will unveil a more-than-$2-trillion package in infrastructure spending on Wednesday. The plan would raise the corporate tax rate to 28% to fund it, an administration official told reporters Tuesday night. The White House said the tax hike, combined with measures designed to stop offshoring of profits, would fund the infrastructure plan within 15 years.
Private payrolls in March expanded at the fastest pace since September 2020 with companies adding 517,000 workers for the month, according to a report Wednesday from payroll processing firm ADP. It was a healthy spike from the 176,000 in February though just below the 525,000 Dow Jones estimate.
Investors await the key March jobs report on Friday to assess the state of the labor-market recovery. Economists expect 630,000 jobs were added in March, and the unemployment rate fell to 6% from 6.2%, according to Dow Jones.
The stock market will be closed for the Good Friday holiday.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys sagged, raising yields to 1.72% from Tuesday’s 1.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices strengthened 29 cents to $60.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $18.90 to $1,704.90.
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