Equities in Toronto edged down at the open on Wednesday, aided by gains in banks, while evidence of a slower-than-expected rise in consumer prices in the world's largest economy further aided investor sentiment.
The TSX faltered 25.84 points to open Wednesday at 20,559.89.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.03 cents to 74.77 cents U.S.
Among company news, payments tech firm Nuvei Corp beat expectations for its first-quarter revenue. Nuvei surrendered $8.60, or 5.1%, to $48.13.
Scotiabank resumed coverage of digital healthcare firm WELL Health Technologies Corp with a sector outperform rating. WELL shares docked two cents to $5.44.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said the pace of housing starts in Canada advanced 11.3% to $11.8 billion in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.88 points to 624.10.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups had gained ground by the close, with energy up 0.6%, industrials ahead 0.5%, and utilities better by 0.4%.
The five losing subgroups were co-led by health-care and financials, both off 0.6%, and real-estate trailing 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite were higher Wednesday as investors grew optimistic after a tamer-than-expected inflation
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 52.43 points first thing Wednesday at 33,614.24.
The S&P 500 index re-attached 25.39 points to 4,144.56.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 142.77 points, or 1.2%, to 12,322.32.
Overall market gains were contained as cyclical stocks, which are most closely linked to the economy, traded lower. Shares like Nike and Caterpillar were in the red as some investors reasoned that inflation was slowing because a recession is imminent or the country was already in one.
Shares of tech stocks like Alphabet, Nvidia and Tesla gained.
Airbnb dropped 11.5%, and Twilio fell 16%, on weak forecasts. Electric vehicle maker Rivian popped 9% on a narrower-than-expected loss. Earnings season continues Wednesday with results from Disney and Robinhood.
April consumer prices increased 4.9% from a year ago, which was less than the 5% annual increase expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Month-over-month inflation matched expectations with a 0.4% increase in April.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury moved forward, lowering yields to 3.46% from Tuesday’s 3.53%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank $1.31 to $72.40 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices improved $2.10 to $2,045.00 U.S. an ounce.
