Markets in Toronto were slightly higher Tuesday, as the U.S. Federal Reserve began its 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 17.23 points to end Tuesday at 12,834.11
Shares in BlackBerry Ltd. climbed 2%, or 21 cents, to $10.88.
The energy sector fell as oil prices declined. Imperial Oil gathered 16 cents to $44.64, while Suncor shares sank 27 cents to $36.98
The gold sector was up, while shares in Barrick Gold Corp. saw an uptick of 0.6%, or 12 cents, to $18.87 after the company said it is working to strengthen its governance practices and is looking to add new independent directors to its board.
The gold miner, which has been under pressure from shareholders to make changes, said it is also looking at making improvements to its executive compensation practices.
The metals and mining sector was up, while December copper was unchanged at US$3.22 a pound. Teck Resources took on 34 cents to $28.53
Utilities was among the few groups losing steam, as shares in ATCO Ltd. dipped 2.4%, or $1.08, to $44.40.
On the economic slate, 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 4.12 points Tuesday to 935.42
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher on the day. Gold shot higher 0.9%, while information technology stocks bolted 0.8%, and global base metals improved 0.5%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by utilities, down 0.4%, energy, off 0.3%, and real-estate lurching lower 0.04%.
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 34.95 points to finish at 15,529.70
The S&P 500 index gained 7.16 points to 1,704.76. The NASDAQ advanced 27.85 points to 3,745.70
Shares of Microsoft rose after the company boosted its dividend by 22% and announced a $40-billion U.S. share buyback plan.
Pandora shares jumped 4%, recovering from an initial slump after the company said it would sell more shares through a secondary offering.
In other buyback news, Herbalife surged 3% after a D.A. Davidson analyst said the company could announce its own large buyback in the next several weeks.
Meanwhile, airline stocks rose after JPMorgan upgraded both Delta and U.S. Airways to overweight from neutral. Shares of Southwest, JetBlue and Alaska also got a boost from the upgrade.
Safeway was a big gainer, surging 8.5% after the company adopted a "poison pill" plan to avoid a hostile takeover. The supermarket operator said the move came after an unknown investor had acquired a significant stake.
Shares of Outerwall, the company known until recently as Coinstar, plummeted 12% after it slashed its guidance for the current fiscal quarter. The company's Redbox DVD rentals were weaker than expected in the summer.
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 $1.22 to $105.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were lower by $8.50 at $1,309.30 U.S. an ounce.
