Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday to a near four-week high, led by financial and industrial stocks as surprisingly upbeat trade tidings from China supported sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rumbled higher 107.63 points to greet noon at 13,689.05
The Canadian dollar eased 0.12 cents to 78.22 cents U.S.
The biggest movers on the index included Royal Bank of Canada, which rose 0.7% to $76.28, and Bank of Nova Scotia, which advanced 1.1% to $63.21.
Barrick Gold Corp fell 2.1 percent to C$20.44 as spot gold fell
The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 0.5%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 0.75% and the deposit rate is 0.25%
China's exports in March returned to growth for the first time in nine months, adding to further signs of stabilization in the world's second-largest economy that cheered global investors.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 4.53 points to 622.39
Nine of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher by noon, with metals and mining climbing 4.2%, industrials better by 2.2%, and consumer discretionaries up 1%.
The four laggards were weighed most by gold, down 1.5%, while health-care and consumer staples each slid 0.5%
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher Wednesday, following a global rally on encouraging China trade data, while investors also pondered oil prices and early earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials spiked 145.26 points to 17,866.51, its highest level of the year so far.
The S&P 500 was higher 16.13 points to 2,077.85. Financials rose more than 1.5% to lead S&P 500 advancers. Utilities briefly declined more than 1% as the greatest laggard in the S&P.
The NASDAQ index climbed 54.75 points, or 1.1%, to 4,926.84, with Apple and Amazon.com leading major tech stocks higher.
Goldman Sachs contributed the most to gains in the Dow Jones while McDonald's contributed the most to declines.
JPMorgan Chase was also among the top contributors to gains in the Dow. The stock held about than 3.5% higher after reporting first-quarter earnings that beat on both the top and bottom line. However, quarterly profit fell for the first time in five quarters and revenue from investment banking dropped 24.5%.
February business inventories declined 0.1%. Inventories in January were revised down to show a 0.1% drop instead of the previously reported 0.1% gain.
Headline retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.3% in March after being flat in February. Ex-autos, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales edged up 0.1% after an upwardly revised 0.1% the prior month.
The producer price index declined 0.1% in March, following a 0.2% decline in February. Ex-food, energy and trade services, PPI was unchanged from the prior month and up 0.9% in the 12 months through March.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury shifted slightly higher, lowering yields to 1.77% from Tuesday’s 1.78%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices tailed off 22 cents a barrel to $41.95 U.S.
Gold prices settled $9.76 to $1,245.87 U.S. an ounce.
