Canada's main stock index edged up at open on Wednesday, as energy and material stocks gained on higher commodity prices, while investors remained cautious in the wake of the rate decision by the Bank of Canada.
The TSX took on 30.03 points to open Wednesday at 20,085.63.
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.27 cents to 74.89 cents U.S.
In company news, National Bank of Canada resumed its coverage on bus maker NFI Group Inc with an "outperform" rating. NFI fought its way higher 10 cents, or 1.1%, to $9.08.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported this country’s merchandise exports increased 2.5% in April, while imports edged down 0.2%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the world widened from $231 million in March to $1.9 billion in April.
The Bank of Canada today increased its target for the overnight rate to 4¾%, with the Bank Rate at 5% and the deposit rate at 4¾%. The Bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked up 0.95 points to 613.53.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive to start out, led by energy, ahead 1.3%, while materials and health-care each climbed 0.7%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by consumer staples, off 0.3%, while financial and industrial stocks each retreated 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose slightly Wednesday after the S&P 500 notched its highest closing level of 2023.
The Dow Jones Industrials acquired 51.67 points to kick off Wednesday at 33,624.95,
The much-broader S&P 500 backpedaled 3.08 points to 4,280.77.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ index dropped 24.56 points to 13,251.86.
The tail-end of earnings season pressed on with results from Dave & Buster’s and Stitch Fix. Dave & Buster’s gained 25%, while Stitch Fix added more than 32%.
The U.S. trade deficit continued to increase in April, but came in slightly below economists’ expectations. The deficit could translate into lower GDP growth for the second quarter.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, raising yields to 3.76% from Tuesday’s 3.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered $1.08 to $72.82 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices handed over $4.20 to $1,977.30 U.S. an ounce.
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