Markets in Toronto and on Wall Street were slightly higher Tuesday, as the U.S. Federal Reserve heads into a two-day meeting that will likely end with the central bank announcing it's ready to start reducing its monetary stimulus.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 11.52 points to greet noon at 12,828.40
Tech stocks proved the leaders Tuesday morning, as Wi-Lan shares climbed 3.9%, or 14 cents, to $3.76, while BlackBerry – subject of much takeover speculation – gained 2.6%, or 28 cents, to $10.95.
Also enjoying themselves were mining and metals stocks, particularly HudBay Minerals, tacking on 3.6%, or 29 cents, to $8.30, while Teck Resources shares hiked 1%, or 28 cents, to $28.47.
Financial issues also strengthened, notably Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial, which achieved a 52-week high before settling around $44.16, up 40 cents from Monday’s close. CIBC gained 45 cents to $82.19.
Utilities tripped, however, especially Just Energy Group, down nine cents, or 1.4%, to $6.53.
On the economic slate this morning, Statistics Canada reported that July manufacturing sales rose 1.7% to $49.5 billion in July. The market call was for a gain of only 0.5%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 1.87 points to 937.67
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by midday, led by information technology issues, up 0.9%, while metals and mining vied for runner-up position with financials, each up 0.4%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by utilities, down 0.5%, while materials stepped back 0.3% and consumer discretionaries faded 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
It's been a sweet September for stocks, and the rally continued Tuesday even as the dreaded "taper" looms.
The Dow Jones Industrials picked up 39.09 points to pause for lunch at 15,533.90
The S&P 500 index gained 5.30 points to 1,702.90. The NASDAQ advanced 21.26 points to 3,739.10
Shares of Microsoft rose after the company hiked its dividend by 22% and announced a $40-billion U.S. share buyback plan.
Airline stocks rose after JPMorgan upgraded Delta and U.S. Airways to overweight from neutral. Shares of Southwest, Jetblue and Alaska were also rising on the upgrade.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase were higher following reports that the bank is set to pay at least $700 million U.S. in fines in connection with the "London Whale" trading debacle.
The Federal Reserve's policy committee will start a two-day meeting today. And this one is particularly significant. The central bank could announce Wednesday that it will finally slow the pace of its $85 billion U.S. in monthly purchases of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities.
The Fed has said that it will begin to "taper" its quantitative easing program sometime this year, and the beginning of 2014 is drawing near. Investors had been concerned earlier this summer about the impact that scaling back this massive program will have on stocks and bond yields.
On the economic front, the U.S. Consumer Price Index rose just 0.1% in August, a sign that inflation remains tame.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury eked up, lowering yields to 2.85% from Monday’s 2.87%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 86 cents to $105.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were lower by $7.90 at $1,309.90 U.S. an ounce.
