Toronto stocks rose to more than two-month highs on Wednesday, supported by higher oil prices as cooling inflation fueled hopes that the Bank of Canada is nearing an end to its rate-hike cycle.
The TSX gained 70.94 points to break for lunch Wednesday at 20,447.51.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.02 cents to 75.94 cents U.S.
In health-care, Tilray shares were up 15 cents, or 6.8%, to $2.35.
In communications, TELUS surged 41 cents, or 1.7%, to $24.21.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 2.24 points to 622.17.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher by midday, health-care vaulting 1.7%, while communications gathered 0.9%, and information technology gained 0.6%.
The two laggards were gold, ditching 0.4%, and consumer staples dipped 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Wednesday as the corporate earnings season continued, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average on track for its longest winning streak in nearly four years.
The 30-stock index gained 163.81 points to move into lunch hour Wednesday at 35,115.74, on track for its eighth straight day of gains, its longest streak since September 2019.
The S&P 500 added 21.1 points to 4,576.08.
The NASDAQ index climbed 76.67 points to 14,430.31.
Goldman Sachs reported a miss on adjusted earnings per share and a beat on revenue Wednesday, tied to losses in real estate as well as GreenSky. Goldman had previously warned investors that the quarter would likely yield lackluster results. Shares were little changed, however.
Other major companies such as Netflix, Tesla, IBM and United Airlines will post earnings after the close.
Carvana shares climbed more than 28% after securing a deal to reduce roughly $1.2 billion in debt. The online auto retailer said Tuesday it will post second-quarter earnings results on Wednesday, moving the date of its report up from Aug. 3.
Thus far, the second-quarter earnings season is off to a strong start. Of the companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results, 78% have exceeded expectations. For many investors, the recent streak of gains bolsters the case for a soft-landing scenario. It’s an outlook that has gained traction after last week’s encouraging inflation data.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were ahead, lowering yields to 3.78% from Tuesday’s 3.80%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 36 cents to $76.11 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $2.70 to $1,978.10 U.S. an ounce.
