Equities in Canada’s biggest market rose on Wednesday to a fresh 13-month high, led by the materials group as gold rallied.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 16.76 points to open for business Wednesday at 14,817.99
The Canadian dollar gained 0.43 cents to 76.66 cents U.S.
Bell Canada, Canada's largest telecommunications company, announced on Tuesday a public offering of $1.5 billion of medium term notes
debentures in two series.
Bell’s parent, BCE, shed five cents to $63.12
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is offering to pay lenders a higher interest rate in order to obtain an amendment to its debt agreement that would loosen one of its covenants
Valeant shares dropped off $1.88, or 5.1%, after hefty gains Tuesday, to $35.01.
Austrian energy group OMV has agreed to sell most of its 50% stake in the British Rosebank field to Suncor Energy for as much as $215 million
Suncor shares dipped 10 cents to $35.81.
CIBC cut the rating on Richmont Mines to sector perform from outperform.
Richmont shares picked up eight cents each to $13.56.
TD Securities raises the rating on Geodrill to buy from speculative buy. Geodrill shares lost two cents, or nearly 1%, to $2.03.
CIBC cut the rating on Whistler Blackcomb to sector performer from outperform. Whistler shares slid eight cents to $36.17.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 8.83 points, or 1%, to 832.33
Seven of the 13 subgroups were higher, with gold shining brightest, up 2%, while materials hiked 1.7%, and metals and mining progressed 1.4%.
The five laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 1.3%, utilities, skidding 0.3%, and information technology, falling 0.2%.
Real-estate stocks were unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded right around break-even on Wednesday as investors digested quarterly results from retail firms and watched oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved up 14.38 points, to 18,547.43, with Walt Disney contributing the most to gains, and ExxonMobil losing the most.
The S&P 500 dipped 1.66 points to 2,180.08, as health-care and energy lagged.
The NASDAQ Composite lost 10 points to 5,215.63
Before the bell, Michael Kors posted quarterly results that beat expectations on both lines, but the stock was down more 2%. Meanwhile,
Ralph Lauren shares popped more than 6% after its earnings came in sharply above expectations.
Kohl's, Macy's and Nordstrom are scheduled to post results on Thursday.
According to Dow Jones, investors are expecting the EIA's report to show a draw in crude and gasoline stockpiles.
On the data front, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) showed an increase to 5.624 million job openings in June.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Tuesday’s 1.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices re-sparked 22 cents a barrel to $42.99 U.S.
Gold prices improved $8.10 to $1,354.80 U.S. an ounce.
