The Toronto stock market was higher Wednesday afternoon amid a major oilpatch acquisition along with earnings disappointments and dividend cuts in the resource sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 42.26 points to finish Wednesday at 14,119.73
The Canadian dollar dropped 1.1 cents to 90.25 cents U.S.
On the earnings front, Sherritt International Corp. reported a $38.1-million adjusted net loss in the fourth quarter, equal to 13 cents per share as it recognized a $466.8-million impairment loss related to the sale of its coal business. Analysts had expected Sherritt's adjusted earnings would break even.
Sherritt also cut its quarterly cash dividend to one cent from about four cents per share. Its stock fell 41 cents, or nearly 12%, to $3.02.
Cargojet shares jumped $3.64, or 25.4%, to $18.00 after the cargo carrier was awarded a domestic air cargo network services contract for the Canada Post group of companies, including Purolator's national air cargo network.
The energy sector advanced, as Suncor added 31 cents to $36.92.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. jumped $1.45, or 3.7%, to $40.63 as it said that it will pay $3.125 billion cash to buy conventional oil and gas assets near its core areas in Western Canada in a major land deal with Devon Canada.
Financials were supportive with the group up 0.66 per cent. RBC shares improved 86 cents to $72.31.
The gold sector rose as Barrick Gold gave back 43 cents to $21.87, though Kinross Gold dropped 12 cents to $5.54.
The base metals sector declined, while March copper was unchanged at $3.29 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources lost 10 cents to $25.82.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that wholesale trade for December stumbled 1.4% to $49.6 billion, a six-month low. Of the seven wholesale sub-sectors, five were down, representing 79% of wholesale sales.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange took on 3.43 points to 1,005.88.
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers. Energy stocks shot up 1%, while real-estate issues prospered 0.6%, and financials 0.5%.
The seven laggards were weighed by gold, down 2.2%, materials, sliding 1.2%, and the metals and mining group, off 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were lower Wednesday, as investors digested minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting and grappled with disappointing economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 89.84 points to close at 16,040.56
The S&P 500 index subsided 12.01 points to 1,828.75. The NASDAQ fell 34.83 points to 4,237.95
The broader market may be down. But some prominent stocks were moving higher. Shares of Zale surged about 40% after Signet Jewelers unveiled a deal to acquire the Dallas-based jewelry retailer for $21 U.S. a share. Signet shares soared nearly 13%.
GPS device maker Garmin reported an increase in quarterly earnings on a slight drop in revenue, sending shares up 10%.
Spirit Airlines shares gained ground after the discount airline said that it more than doubled its adjusted net income for the quarter.
On the downside, Herbalife shares slipped even after the controversial seller of nutrition products, reported a double-digit percentage jump in quarterly profit, fueled by sales in China. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has been claiming that Herbalife is a pyramid scheme and has been betting against the company for over a year.
Tesla will report results after the close. The electric car maker already said it sold a higher number of its Model S sedan in the fourth quarter. Investors are hoping for more news from CEO Elon Musk about plans to expand in China and introduce new models. But shares were lower ahead of the results after hitting an all-time high on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, shares of Facebook rose to an all-time high of $69.05 U.S., bringing the company's value to more than $176 billion U.S.
On the economic front, housing starts fell sharply in January, as bad winter weather took a hit on construction.
The Fed released minutes from its January meeting in which it decided to further reduce, or taper, its monthly bond purchases. Though last month's decision to continue to cut back on its stimulus measures was unanimous among the Fed's 10 voting members, investors looked for hints of how the Fed might act in the future.
To that end, the Federal Reserve indicated that it may scrap its 6.5% unemployment rate target for raising the key federal funds rate since the jobless rate is quickly approaching that threshold despite weak gains in hiring.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries lost ground, raising yields to 2.73% from Tuesday’s 2.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gained $1.20 to $103.63 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $15.000 to $1,310.40 U.S. an ounce.
