Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday, supported by material stocks as gold prices jumped on the back of softer Treasury yields after U.S. Federal Reserve officials downplayed inflation concerns.
The TSX moved into noon hour on Wednesday up 158.62 points to 19,722.74.
The Canadian dollar retreated 0.39 cents to 82.48 cents U.S.
Bank of Montreal beat analysts' estimates for second-quarter profit, as the lender set aside lower-than-expected provisions in the quarter.
Bank of Montreal grabbed 31 cents to $123.91.
Canadian National Railway rose $2.08 or 1.6%, to $129.32, after saying it would divest Kansas City Southern's 70-mile rail line between New Orleans and Baton Rouge to eliminate the only overlap between the two railroad operators.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were BlackBerry, which jumped $1.12, or 10.8%, to a three-week high of $11.49, and Teck Resources, rising $1.38, or 5.1%, to $28.28, after Deutsche raised the stock's target price.
Capital Power fell $1.64, or 4.1%, the most on the TSX, to $38.17, after announcing bought offering of common shares.
The second biggest decliner was iA Financial Corp, down 98 cents, or 1.4%, to $69.28.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange improved 2.82 points to 957.78.
All 12 subgroups were still green by lunch hour, led by health-care, sprinting 2.5%, energy, rumbling 1.4%, and materials, hiking 1.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as shares tied to the economic reopening supported the broader market once again.
The Dow Jones Industrials surged 66.1 points to break for lunch at 34,378.56.
The S&P 500 added 10.9 points to 4,199.03.
The NASDAQ recovered 83.84 points to 13,741.01.
Shares of companies linked to a recovering economy gained. Carnival Corp rose about 1%. Royal Caribbean jumped 2% and brought its gain this week to 11% after the cruise line operator received approval to begin test cruises with volunteer passengers.
The optimism on the economy comes as U.S. average daily COVID cases fall below 25,000 and as nearly half the U.S. population has received at least one vaccination dose.
Shares of Ford rose more than 2% after the automobile giant said it is increasing its investment in electric vehicles to $30 billion through 2025.
Bitcoin continued its comeback, helping risk sentiment in the financial markets. Bitcoin climbed back above $40,000 on Wednesday, according to Coin Metrics. On May 19, the cryptocurrency hit a low of $30,001.51 following an intraday crash of 30%. Shares of Tesla, a big holder of bitcoin, added 2%. Coinbase shares were also higher.
Nordstrom shares dropped about 6% after the company missed the Street’s first-quarter earnings expectations, while shares of Urban Outfitters jumped more than 7% following better-than-expected quarterly results.
Investors will be keeping an eye on Washington and any developments on an infrastructure compromise that could boost the economy further. Senate Republicans plan to send President Joe Biden a counteroffer this week costs nearly $1 trillion.
Chief executives of the country’s largest banks — including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — are set to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday morning.
Dick’s Sporting Goods, American Eagle Outfitters, NVIDIA, Snowflake and other companies are expected to report earnings Wednesday.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys sagged, raising yields to Tuesday’s 1.56%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 16 cents to $66.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $5.50 to $1,903.50 U.S. an ounce.
