The Toronto stock market registered a solid, triple digit gain Wednesday amid higher commodity prices and positive news from market heavyweights Barrick Gold and Canadian Pacific Railway, which both beat analyst estimates.
The S&P/TSX index moved higher by 179.49 points, or 1.5%, to conclude Wednesday at 12,270.43
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.01 cents at 97.49 cents U.S.
Barrick shares rose $1.55, or 8.6%, to $19.56, although they remain at their lowest level in years. It posted $923 million U.S. or 92 cents per share of adjusted earnings in the first quarter, down from $1.1 billion U.S. or $1.10 per share. Net income before adjustments was $847 million or 85 cents per share.
Barrick’s results beat the consensus estimate of 85 cents per share or $852 million of adjusted earnings and 81 cents per share or $865 million of net income. Its shares were up as it also plans to cut at least $500 million U.S. from spending on major projects this year and may sell non-core assets in response to lower prices and profit experienced in the first quarter.
Canadian Pacific reported quarterly net income of $217 million or $1.24 per share, while revenue was up nine per cent to a quarterly record of $1.495 billion. The railway’s operating ratio, a key measure of efficiency, improved to 75.8%, which Canadian Pacific said was a record for the company.
CP chief executive Hunter Harrison, who was brought in last year, said he’s happy with the progress but not finished with transforming the company. Its stock lost early momentum and dropped $1.38 to $124.85, well above its 52-week low of $71.61. Most of the gains have taken place since last September and expectations for CP are high.
The Barrick results helped push the gold sector up substantially, as did rising gold prices. Goldcorp Inc. was up $1.81, or 6.4%, to $30.25.
The metals and mining sector also advanced while May copper closed up six cents to $3.16 U.S. a pound.
A note from analysts at Goldman Sachs says the outlook for copper prices are expected to rebound in the next three months, aided by Chinese growth in the second half of the year, and the U.S. economy heading towards a soft patch.
Sherritt International Corp. posted a reduced first-quarter profit and a 20% decline in revenue from the same time last year. The diversified mining company had $23.1 million of net earnings, or eight cents per share, down from $32.4 million or 11 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter.
Revenue was $286.5 million, down from $359.4 million and its shares were 14 cents lower to $4.31.
The energy sector gained as Cenovus Energy Inc. reported a first-quarter profit of $171 million as it was hit by unrealized hedging and foreign exchange losses. Its shares gained 44 cents to $29.19.
The company said its refinery business was also hit by weak prices for heavy oil during the first quarter. Its profit amounted to 23 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31 compared with 56 cents per share a year ago. Revenue was $4.32 billion, down from $4.69 billion.
No major Canadian economic data was released Wednesday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was stronger by 7.85 points to 948.80
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive, led by a 7% surge in gold, while metals and mining leaped 5.2%, and materials spiked 5%
Only telecoms, declining 0.3%, and health-care issues, falling 0.2% missed the party.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks stepped backward Wednesday, as investors parsed through a mixed bag of earnings and a weak economic report.
It was a relatively calm day of trading, one day after an erroneous tweet briefly wreaked havoc on markets.
The Dow Jones Industrials ended the day off 43.16 points to 14,676.30
The S&P 500 index ended the day unchanged at 1,578.38. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite squeezed higher by 0.32 points to 3,269.65
Another batch of mediocre earnings gave investors pause.
Boeing was the biggest gainer on the Dow, after it reported an increase in profits, even as revenue was dinged by its grounded Dreamliners.
However, Dow components such AT&T and Procter & Gamble offset those gains. AT&T's sales came up short, while Procter & Gamble cut its guidance.
Apple added to the downward pressure. It beat expectations and announced it would raise its quarterly dividend and boost its stock buyback program. But the company still struggled with lower profits on the iPhone and iMac.
Ford reported a jump in earnings, helped by sales in North America.
Shares of Yum Brands jumped more than 6% after the fast-good restaurant operator reported earnings that topped Wall Street's low expectations.
First Solar was the biggest gainer on the S&P 500. Shares hit a new 52-week high, pulling other solar stocks higher. Shares of SolarCity, SunPower and Canadian Solar all logged solid gains.
Investors were also put off by a report on durable goods orders that showed orders fell by 5.7% in March -- much worse than analysts had predicted.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained back lost ground, lowering yields to Tuesday’s 1.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices surged $2.40 to $91.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $19.20 to $1,428 U.S. an ounce
