Canada's main stock index rose at the open on Wednesday, following the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision, and with hopes of an interest rate cut in the United States getting a boost from dovish comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index acquired 77.47 points to start the session at 16,622.68
The Canadian dollar re-claimed 0.28 cents to 76.45 cents U.S.
Alimentation Couche-Tard missed analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Tuesday due to lower fuel sales across North America and Europe as well as higher expenses.
Couche-Tard shares gained $1.59, or 1.9%, to $85.34.
Bombardier is reportedly laying off half of the 1,100 workers at its Thunder Bay, Ontario, railway car plant. Bombardier lost one cent per share to $2.21.
Credit Suisse raised the target price on Centerra Gold to $10.00 from $8.00
Desjardins raised the rating on Premium Brands Holdings to buy from hold. Premium shares hiked $1.49, or 1.6%, to $93.99.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on Transalta Renewables to $13.25 from $13. Shares in Transalta added seven cents to $14.22.
Economically speaking, the Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1.75%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 2% and the deposit rate is 1.5%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 2.55 points to 585.48
All but three of the 12 Toronto subgroups were in the green in the first hour, as energy jumped 2.5%, consumer staples towered 1.2% over yesterday, and gold shone 0.6% brighter.
The three laggards were industrials and health-care, each down 0.1%, and consumer discretionary lost 0.02%
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks jumped to record highs Wednesday after testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell bolstered the case for easier monetary policy in the U.S.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 145.52 points to 26,929.01, a new record led by Chevron and American Express.
The S&P 500 gained 17.79 points to 2,997.42, to break temporarily above 3,000 for the first time ever as the energy and tech sectors outperformed.
The NASDAQ Composite spiked 69.48 points to 8,211.01, also an all-time high
Amazon shares rose 1.2% and broke above $2,000 per share. FedEx shares climbed more than 1% after Goldman Sachs added them to their conviction buy list.
In prepared testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, Powell said business investments across the U.S. have slowed “notably” recently as uncertainties over the economic outlook linger.
His testimony comes after the Fed opened the door to cutting rates at its previous monetary policy meeting in June. The central bank dropped the word "patience" in its statement then.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury stayed put, keeping yields at Tuesday’s 2.06%.
Oil prices roared ahead $1.70 to $59.53 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $8.90 to $1,409.40 U.S. an ounce.
