The Toronto stock market enjoyed a higher open as commodity prices rose amid stronger than expected trade figures from China.
The S&P/TSX composite index grew 56.81 points to open at 13,937.80
The Canadian dollar gained 0.12 cents to 90.96 cents U.S.
Traders also took in a slew of earnings from companies including Air Canada and Rogers Communications.
The Maple Leaf airline slowed 92 cents, or 11.7%, to $6.92, while Rogers eased $2.37, or 5.2%, to $43.32
They also digested a major deal involving Maple Leaf Foods. Mexico's Grupo Bimbo is buying all the shares of Canada Bread Co. Ltd. in a deal worth $1.83 billion or $72 a share. Maple Leaf currently holds 90% of Canada Bread's outstanding shares.
Maple Leaf Foods shares increased 31 cents to $16.15, while Canada Bread increased $4.79, or 7.1%, to $72.05
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 5.09 points to 985.33
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher at the outset, led by energy stocks, chugging 0.9% higher, financials, clicking 0.8% better, and consumer staples, 0.6% stronger.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by telecoms, off 1.1%, while consumer discretionary stocks and gold each slid 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were higher early Wednesday, but the gains were slim as investors took a bit of a breather following a four day winning streak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average nicked up 0.94 points to open at 15,995.71.
The S&P 500 index eked up 1.14 points to 1,820.92. The NASDAQ added 10.78 points to 4,201.83.
On the corporate front, Cisco is on tap to report quarterly earnings after the bell.
Despite the broad gains on Wall Street Tuesday, Cisco was the only Dow component to end in the red. Shares of the chip giant continued to slide Wednesday, as analysts are expecting the company to report a drop in profit and revenue.
Zillow is also slated to release its earnings report. The online real estate company's stock was up in early trading. Shares have more than doubled in the past twelve months.
Amazon shares were lower after UBS downgraded the stock to neutral from buy. The online retailer also announced that it would hire 2,500 full-time workers at its fulfillment centers, in addition to the 20,000 that it hired last year.
Shares for ING Group jumped after the Dutch bank reported significant quarterly increases in earnings. French bank Societe Generale also reported a quarterly jump in profit.
S&P 500 companies DaVita HealthCare Partners and retailer Fossil were also big gainers after reporting quarterly earnings that beat expectations.
The modest gains follow Tuesday's huge rally, sparked by the realization that the Federal Reserve's monetary policy is unlikely to change much under new Fed chair Janet Yellen
In testimony before the House, Yellen said the Fed will continue reducing its stimulus as the economy gradually improves. She added that recent emerging market turmoil posed no real risk to the economic outlook for the United States.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries dipped, raising yields to 2.75% from Tuesday’s 2.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered $1.23 to $101.17 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices crept up 50 cents to $1,290.30 U.S. an ounce.
