Canadian stocks rose for a third day, trading at a five-month high.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index came off its highs of the day to advance 44.01 points to close at 13,911.29.
The index has rallied more than 20% since its near 3-1/2-year low in January, considered by some as signs of a bull market.
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.12 cents to 79.05 cents U.S.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. lost $1.38, or the biggest decline in a month, to $188.57, after the railroad operator reported first-quarter revenue slipped 4% to $1.59 billion from year-ago levels.
While Canadian Pacific posted profit ahead of consensus estimates while also boosting its dividend, investors were perhaps looking for a larger buyback than the company unveiled, BMO Capital Markets analyst Fadi Chamoun said in a note. CP will buy back as much as $1.31 billion in stock.
Among consumer staples, Metro Inc., progressed $1.05, or 2.5%, to $43.05, while rival Loblaw advanced seven cents to $70.58.
Financials were strong, most notably, Manulife, up 52 cents, or 2.8%, to $19.13, and TD Bank took on 49 cents to $56.40.
Gold stocks sagged, however, as Kinross Gold lost 11 cents, or 1.9%, to $5.71, and Barrick Gold backtracked 64 cents, or 3.1%, to $20.06.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that wholesale trade decreased 2.2% to $55.8 billion in February, after three consecutive increases.
The agency added lower sales were reported in five of seven sub-sectors, accounting for 66% of total wholesale sales. In volume terms, wholesale sales declined 1.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange continued to roll, taking on 4.94 points to 654.26.
Six of the 13 TSX subgroups advanced, with consumer staples hiking 1.2%, while financials were up 0.9%, and metals and mining picking up 0.8%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by gold, down 2.4%, materials, off 1.1%, and utilities, sliding 0.6%.
Health-care stocks ended the session unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday amid earnings and stabilization in oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrials grew 42.67 points to end the session at 18,096.27, with UnitedHealth and Goldman Sachs contributing the most to gains. Boeing and Coca-Cola contributed the most to declines.
The S&P 500 eked up 1.61 points to 2,102.41. Financials and energy held higher to lead S&P 500 advancers in afternoon trade, with utilities and consumer staples the greatest decliners.
The NASDAQ index restored 7.8 points to 4,948.13
Coca-Cola reported earnings that beat slightly on both the top and bottom line. Worldwide case volume was up 2%, slightly below analysts' forecasts.
Intel posted earnings that topped expectations, with revenue essentially in line. However, revenue guidance missed expectations and the firm cut its full-year profit margin outlook. Intel also announced it would cut up to 12,000 jobs and that Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith would leave that post to lead the company's sales efforts.
In economic news, existing home sales surged 5.1% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.33 million units in March. February's sales pace was revised slightly down to 5.07 million units from the previously reported 5.08 million units.
WTI pared losses and turned higher. Weekly crude oil inventories from the Energy Information Agency showed a build of 2.08 million barrels.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell sharply, bringing yields up to 1.85% from Tuesday’s 1.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recouped $1.55 a barrel to $42.63 U.S.
Gold prices sagged $4.99 to $1,245.20 U.S. an ounce.
