Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday, helped by higher oil prices and better-than-expected retailer earnings.
The S&P/TSX composite index pointed upward 81.05 points to open Wednesday’s session at 13,361.44.
The Canadian dollar eked down 0.04 cents at 75.03 cents U.S.
Canadian Pacific is pressing ahead with its proposed takeover of U.S. carrier Norfolk Southern, disclosing the contents of the offer letter it sent to Norfolk Southern Corp. on Tuesday to clarify the details of a proposal that would result in the creation of a pro-competitive, pro-customer, coast-to-coast transportation solution.
CP shares popped $8.42, or 4.4%, to $192.84.
Drug store chain Jean Coutu Group announced today an investment of $15 million in COLO-D inc., a leading neutral colocation centre service provider in eastern Canada.
Coutu shares gathered 25 cents, or 1.2%, to $20.79.
Grocer Metro Inc. reported a successful bottom line in fiscal 2015, with sales up 5.5% from last year, and net earnings up 13.8%.
Metro shares gained 13 cents to $37.89.
No major economic events are due.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched up 0.94 points to 520.24.
All but one of the 13 TSX subgroups moved higher, with metals and mining climbing 2.4%. industrials soaring 1.8%, and materials improving 1.2%.
The lone laggard was in information technology, off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded higher on Wednesday as oil prices rebounded, while investors also looked ahead to the release of the Federal Reserve's October meeting minutes.
The Dow Jones industrial average shot higher 109.1 points to 17,598.6, with Apple and Goldman Sachs contributing most of the gains.
The S&P 500 added 11.82 points to 2,062.26, receiving a boost from energy, which rose 1%.
The NASDAQ index strengthened 25.95 points to 5,011.97, as Apple gained 3%
In corporate news, Lowe's reported better-than expected earnings per share and revenue, as same-store sales rose more 4.6%, also above expectations.
ConAgra Foods announced it plans on splitting into two publicly traded companies, on dealing with ConAgra's food service business, and the other with consumer food brands.
Citrix Systems said it will cut about 1,000 jobs and it will also spin off its GoTo software business into a separate public company.
Fairchild Semiconductor agreed to be bought by rival ON Semiconductor for $20 U.S. a share, or $2.4 billion U.S.
On the data front, U.S. housing starts for October fell 11%, while building permits rose 4.1%. Single-family building permits rose 2.4% to their highest level since December 2007.
Last week, oil prices took a sharp turn lower following the release of U.S. inventories data. New data is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries hesitated, lifting yields to 2.29%, from Tuesday’s 2.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired 49 cents a barrel to $41.16 U.S.
Gold prices dipped $2.30 to $1,068 U.S. an ounce.
