Equity markets in Toronto opened slightly higher on Wednesday as investors widely expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue with its current stimulative monetary policy stance until next year.
The S&P/TSX composite index added on 19.27 points to start trading at 13,459.88
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.12 cents to 95.65 cents U.S.
TD Bank climbed 13 cents to $95.28 while Manulife Financial advanced six cents to $18.38.
Canadian National Railway said on Tuesday it still hopes to negotiate a new deal with the Teamsters union and avoid a labor disruption, after talks assisted by government-appointed mediators stretched into the early morning. CN shares declined 53 cents to $114.56.
National Bank Financial raised the target price on Genworth MI Canada to $34 from $30 following the company's better-than-expected third-quarter results. Genworth shares hiked $1.18, or 3.7%, to $32.99.
National Bank Financial raised the target price on Horizon North Logistics to $9.50 from $8 as the company's third-quarter revenue beat estimates. Horizon shares took on 25 cents to $7.99.
National Bank Financial raised the rating on Thomson Reuters to sector perform from underperform as the company's financial & risk's net sales turned positive for the first time in eight years. Thomson shares hiked 39 cents to $38.97.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange ditched 0.09 points to 968.35
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks extended a record-setting run Wednesday morning as investors await what they think will be good news from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved ahead 4.05 points to open for business at 15,684.40
The S&P 500 index added 1.82 points to 1,773.77. The NASDAQ slid 1.60 points to 3,950.74. The Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs Tuesday.
General Motors soared as it reported narrower losses in Europe and improving profit margins in North America. Chrysler reported double-digit gains in profit and sales for the quarter. The automaker is not publicly traded, but has announced plans for an initial public offering.
Sprint reported a quarterly profit but shares were flat in early trading. Cable giant Comcast reported declines in quarterly sales and profit, but earnings topped expectations. The stock was also flat in early trading.
Yelp shares plunged 6% after the review site reported a wider-than expected quarterly loss and announced plans to sell more stock. On the flip side, Baidu shares rallied after China's largest search engine posted strong earnings and sales, and said earnings in the current quarter would easily top forecasts.
Shares of Electronic Arts jumped about 10% after the video game maker's quarterly earnings beat expectations.
Investors expect the Fed to say at 2 p.m. Wednesday that it will continue its $85-billion U.S. monthly bond buying program. There are hopes that this stimulus, commonly known on Wall Street as quantitative easing or QE, will last through at least the end of this year because of the fallout from the government shutdown.
The government shutdown may keep the Fed's printing press going but it appears to be causing a slowdown in hiring.
Private sector employers added just 130,000 jobs in October -- their lowest level of job growth since April, according to a report by payroll processor ADP.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, dropping yields to 2.49% from Tuesday’s 2.51%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 90 cents to $97.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices improved $11.40 to $1,356.90 U.S. an ounce.
