Stocks in Toronto opened higher on Wednesday as optimism over a series of strong earnings reports and higher gold prices boosted the outlook for regional equities.
The TSX/S&P Composite advanced 42.5 points to open for business Wednesday at 20,538.24
The Canadian dollar lopped 0.05 cents to 79.87 cents U.S.
CIBC raised the rating on Centerra Gold to neutral from underperform. Centerra shares triumphed 58 cents, or 6.4%, to $9.62.
CIBC also raised the rating on CI Financial to outperform from neutral. CI shares took on 78 cents, or 3.2%, to $25.31.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on Nuvei Corp. to $150.00 from $120.00. Nuvei shares grabbed $4.93, or 4.1%, to $124.00.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 7.42 points to 928.42.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, led by gold, up 2.4%, materials up 1.2%, and utilities, better by 0.4%.
The five laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 1.4%, energy, off 1.1%, and consumer staples, up 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Wednesday after inflation jumped, but not by quite as much as investors feared when stripping out volatile food and energy prices.
The 30-stock index leaped 221.90 points to reach mid-morning Wednesday at 35,486.57, to reach a new intraday record.
The S&P 500 added 10.33 points to 4,447.08
The NASDAQ dropped 17.24 points to 14,770.84.
Wendy’s rose 2% after reporting better-than-expected earnings before the bell. Lordstown Motors, eBay and Bumble are on deck for after-hour releases.
Through Friday, 87% of the S&P 500 companies that reported quarterly results have beat earnings estimates. The same percentage of companies beat revenue estimates during that timeframe.
July’s Consumer Price Index released Wednesday showed prices jumped 5.4% since last year, compared to expectations of 5.3%, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The government said CPI increased 0.5% in July on month-to-month basis.
But investors were concentrating on the core rate of inflation. CPI, excluding energy and food prices, rose by 0.3% last month, below the 0.4% increase expected. Core prices still jumped 4.3% on a year-over-year basis.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were lower, raising yields to 1.36% from Tuesday’s 1.35%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 75 cents to $67.54 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $13.30 to $1,745 U.S. an ounce.
