Equities in Toronto rose on Wednesday, helped by gains among gold mining stocks as the price of bullion hit its highest level since late June.
The S&P/TSX composite index was off its highs of the morning, but still positive 21.4 points to greet noon at 13,866.13
The Canadian dollar hiked 0.27 cents at 76.97 cents U.S.
Miners were joined by heavyweight Valeant Pharmaceuticals International as well as some energy names in the push higher.
Gold's rise was helped by increased bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold off on raising interest rates this year amid soft U.S. data and concerns over deflationary pressures in China.
The most influential movers on the index included Goldcorp, which rose 3.4% to $19.07, and Barrick Gold, which advanced 5.5% to $10.23. Mining finance company Franco-Nevada Corp added 2.7% to $65.58
Energy stocks climbed with Suncor Energy up 0.8% to $36.78, and Canadian Natural Resources advancing 0.9% to $30.77. Pipeline operator Enbridge Inc added 0.6% to $55.95.
Those gains occurred amid slips in crude prices on concerns a supply glut will persist and demand will slow.
Valeant, a large weight known for outsized swings, jumped 5.5% to $228.57.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 1.64 points to 555.02
Eight of the 13 TSX subgroups were lower by noon, as industrials fell 0.8%, while consumer staples and financials each listed lower 0.7%.
The five gainers were led by gold, up 4.6%, materials, hiking 2.7%, and health-care, haler by 1.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower Wednesday as investors digested mixed earnings and soft data.
The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 101.02 points to 16,980.87.
Wal-Mart briefly plunged more than 9% as the greatest weight on the Dow Jones industrial average, which traded below the psychologically key level of 17,000 for the first time since Oct. 8.
The firm said Wednesday that it expects sales to be flat in fiscal year 2016. At the lows of the day, shares hit a three-year low and wiped out about $21.2 billion U.S. in market cap, on track for its worst day in 15 years.
The S&P 500 slumped 7.98 points to 1,995.71, below the psychologically key level of 2,000 in intraday trade for the first time since Oct. 8. Consumer sectors were the greatest weights on the index.
The NASDAQ index lost 14.83 points to 4,781.76.
Following JPMorgan's disappointing results late Tuesday, Bank of America reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations.
Meanwhile,BlackRock said its third-quarter profits fell 8%.
Wells Fargo also reported earnings that beat expectations.
Netflix is scheduled to release results after the close. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs earnings are slated for Thursday before the bell.
U.S. retail sales barely rose in September as cheaper gasoline weighed on service station receipts, while producer prices posted their biggest decline in eight months.
August business inventories remained unchanged while economists expected a 0.1% increase.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book is scheduled for release at 2:00 p.m.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were higher, dropping yields to 2% from Tuesday’s 2.04%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 43 cents a barrel to $46.23 U.S.
Gold prices gained $8.35 to $1,177.19 U.S. an ounce.
