Canada's main stock index rose for the second straight session on Wednesday on gains in gold miners, while investors awaited minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting for clues on the rate hike path.
The TSX hiked 116.34 points to approach noon EST Wednesday at 19,560.11.
The Canadian dollar restocked 0.91 cents at 74.04 cents U.S.
Among individual stocks, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce added 61 cents, or 1.1%, to $56.01 after the lender planned to appeal a New York judge's order to pay $848 million in damages to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management in a contract dispute tied to the 2008 global financial crisis.
Canopy Growth led health-care issues, the most towering of the gainers, up 28 cents, or 9.2%, to $3.42. Gold also climbed, with Torex Gold Resources jumping in price 90 cents, or 5.6%, to $16.88.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 1.72 points to 568.69.
All but two of the 12 subgroups were flourishing midday, with health-care bouncing 3.3%, gold ahead 2.7%, and information technology gaining 1.2%.
The two laggards were energy, down 0.7%, while consumer staples sagged 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks gained Wednesday and rates slid as investors digested key jobs and manufacturing data ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes release.
The Dow Jones Industrials came out of the pit it had been in and leaped 220.54 points near noon Wednesday at 33,356.91
The S&P 500 sprang 43.5 points, or 1.1%, at 3,867,58
The NASDAQ Composite Index recovered 122.96 points, or 1.2%, to 10,560.11.
Shares of Microsoft fell more than 5% after a downgrade from UBS, weighing on the broader market.
The November Job Openings and Labor Turnover report, or JOLTS, came in slightly better than anticipated, signaling continued labor market strength amid the central bank’s rate hikes to tame inflation. The ISM manufacturing index, on the flip side, showed a contraction in the sector after 30 months of expansion, signaling that interest rate increases may be working to slow the economy.
Still, investors struggled to find a clear direction ahead of more economic data to come, including Fed meeting minutes due later Wednesday and the December jobs report Friday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 3.69% from Tuesday’s 3.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices dropped $3.62 to $73.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices heightened $17.10 to $1,863.20 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
