Canada's main stock index held near record-high levels on Wednesday, as higher gold prices helped the heavyweight mining sector offset losses in energy stocks weighed down by oil market volatility.
The TSX/S&P Composite advanced 41.79 points to enter the afternoon Wednesday at 20,537.53
The Canadian dollar re-captured 0.06 cents to 79.94 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was ATS Automation Tooling Systems which jumped 8.4% after its quarterly results beat estimates.
Canada Goose fell 12.3%, the most on the TSX, despite its quarterly results beating expectations, as it could face headwinds from a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange handed back 0.11 points to 920.89.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, led by gold, up 2.43, materials up 1.2%, and real-esatet better by 0.8%.
The five laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 1.9%, energy, off 1.%, and consumer staples, down 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 Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 182.27 points to reach Wednesday afternoon at 35,446.94, to reach a new intraday record. The 30-stock Dow was lifted by names like Caterpillar and Home Depot.
The S&P 500 added 5.17 points to 4,441.92
The NASDAQ dropped 53.85 points to 14,734.24.
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 Tuesday’s 1.35%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 36 cents to $67.93 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $18.50 to $1,750.50 U.S. an ounce.
