Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday, led by gains in health-care and energy shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index maintained gains of 26.74 points to greet noon hour at 16,163.40
The Canadian dollar added 0.23 cents at 75.08 cents U.S.
Boosting health-care was Aurora Cannabis, which surged $1.11, or 10.4%, the most on the TSX, to $11.75, after naming billionaire investor Nelson Peltz as a strategic adviser.
Quebecor fell $1.02, or 3.2%, the most on the TSX, to $30.98, after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter results.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 0.53 points to 620.42
Six of the 12 TSX subgroups had turned negative by noon, as gold dulled in price 0.8%, while materials dipped 0.5%, and consumer discretionary stocks fell 0.4%.
The five gainers were led by health-care, boosting 2.4%, while energy gushed 1.5%, and industrials picked up 0.5%. Real-estate shares were unchanged at noon.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Wednesday as tech shares out performed and Boeing regained some of the sharp losses from this week. Investors also digested the release of solid economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average spiked 170.28 points to greet noon hour EDT at 25,724.94
The S&P 500 gained 24.99 points to 2,816.51, to trade back above 2,800, a key level watched by investors.
The NASDAQ Composite improved 72.49 points to 7,633.52.
The S&P 500 tech sector rose 1.1%, led by a 4.1% gain in Nvidia. Tech shares have been on fire this week, with the sector rising more than 3.5%
Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Alphabet and Apple all traded higher on Wednesday.
Boeing shares rose 0.8% following an 11.2% drop in the previous two sessions. The aerospace giant's stock has been under pressure this week since amid worries over the safety of the 737 MAX airplane, one of its most popular models.
Several countries, including China, the European Union and Indonesia, grounded all flights involving the 737 Max model after two deadly crashes in less than six months, including one on Sunday.
J.P. Morgan Chase traded 0.8% amid media reports the bank was expanding into several new markets, including some that are dominated by Bank of America. Other bank shares also rose, with Citigroup and Bank of America advancing more than 1% each.
Equities got a boost Wednesday after the Commerce Department said non-defense durable goods orders posted their largest increase in six months in January, rising 0.8%. Overall durable goods orders also rose 0.4% while economists expected a decline of 0.5%.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 2.62% from Tuesday’s 2.6%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired a dollar to $57.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices $10.10 to $1,308.20 U.S. an ounce.
